il Sensale
by Kassiah
Summary: When the prophecy of war reaches the cusp of reality, Alice and Edward enlist to join the Volturi Guard. His priorities shift when he meets his Match. What do you do when the person that was made for you belongs to someone else? AU M for lang & vampsex
1. 1 Prologue  What's in It For Me?

**AN: I know I said **_**Forksnumbers**_** would be next, but I haven't been able to think of anything other than this story, so here we are. Lots of **_**thank you**_**s to go out (though I know I'll forget someone): to my awesome beta, nicnicd, for being **_**awesome**_**; to Twisherry for listening to every detail of this story a million times and never complaining; to Katinki for the insight and handholding and being an inspiration; to my sister, cheezitsyomom, for helping me sort this out; to my twilighted beta, Kherisma; to Feisty and KiyaRaven for the opera advice; to PemberlyRose for the translating services; to caren for being my dolcezza and for the musical advice; to Patsy Robinson and CatonSpeed for the amazing graphics; to Saranic for being my **_**official**_** prereader; and to you, for reading. **

**Disclaimer: All copyright and trademarked items mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No infringement is intended. Translation: Not mine.**

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><p><strong>il Sensale – Chapter 1: Prologue (What's in It for Me?)<strong>

"So we have an arrangement?"

Pressing his hands together, he circled me like the predator he was—the predator we all were. Thoughts full of appraisals and devious plans flew through his mind so quickly I could barely register them. Then again, it was understandable; he _was _trying to keep me out.

No matter though. I heard them all as if I were the one making them.

"Your terms," he murmured in a low tone, his calculating gaze flashing to mine. "Repeat them."

He knew the terms. He also knew he was going to accept them—that much was readily available to me in his mind. He just wanted to force me to explain again, to show that he was the one in control. There was no need—we both already knew that.

"In exchange for my sister's freedom, I will agree to…" I paused, thinking of the most diplomatic word to use in this situation. "…_observe_ the other contestants and report my findings back to you."

"_Freedom?_" He hissed, his rage at my choice of words obvious. "How dare you imply…"

Bowing my head toward him as a sign of deference, I interrupted. "No implication was made, Aro. I was under the impression that a signature on this contract was, in effect, submitting yourself, albeit willingly, to the service of the Volturi—_for life_."

His eyes narrowed to slits as he regarded me. His thoughts continued to rush by in flashes, until a serene expression overtook his features as Puccini's _Tosca_ began to play softly in his mind.

"You are correct, Edward. The participants of the Challenge enter with the intention of giving their life in service to the Volturi. To give up one's life…"

He stopped, closing his eyes as the music continued to play in his thoughts. I watched him warily as he circled the room. I didn't want him to touch me, not now when I was so close...

"So beautiful," he whispered, clearly affected by the notes as they reached their crescendo. A small smile appeared as he stood up straight and clapped his hands together. "Your sister is no different. She would die for me, for all of us; she would give her own life to protect The Cause."

My jaw tightened as I clenched my fists at my side. He was trying to bait me, but I wasn't going to fall for it. I was there to protect my sister, and I wasn't leaving until I had what I wanted, no matter what the cost. "I'm aware of my sister's allegiance, Aro, as well as her belief in The Cause. I'm not refuting that—I'm simply offering you my services in exchange for her safety during the Challenge and her freedom when this war is over."

"Why are you doing this, Edward? If you don't share her aspirations, surely you…"

"She's my sister! I would do anything to protect her."

Suddenly, his eyes widened as a picture flashed through his mind: a stunning woman with striking features, skin pale and beautiful, smiling as she laughed. It was gone as quickly as it came, masked again by the haunting music.

Remaining completely still, I made no indication that the woman's face had registered important in his thoughts. There was no logic to pretending I hadn't, not when Aro was aware of how my talent worked. Still, though, I just _knew_ that it was absolutely necessary not to reveal that I noticed her.

I found it increasingly difficult to cover my bases with him. With one touch, he would know all of my secrets, every thought that I had ever had. His talent was much more powerful than mine, so very malignant to my plans.

"Why should I agree to this? The Guard is practically impenetrable now. The Challenge will no doubt bring invaluable new additions to the Guard, including your sister, who has already pledged her life to me. I certainly have no need of you."

Shaking my head, I looked him in the eye and told him exactly why he needed me. "Practically isn't good enough. You don't know that you can trust the contestants, or anyone else who will be there, for that matter. Everyone knows your powers, Aro, but you have to touch them to invoke them. _Why show that weakness? _No one, apart from my sister and the Cullens, know what I'm capable of—and no one has to know. I'm the onlyperson capable of doing this for you." Pausing for impact, I arranged my next words into those that would guarantee his acceptance of my offer. "Just think about it—you'll be _omniscient_ and no one will be the wiser."

His eyes glazed over for a moment before he closed them. He hummed the next part of the opera aloud in his increased effort to block me from his thoughts. "You will report back to me every thought that every person there is having?" he questioned, enunciating the words as he considered them.

"No. Not mine and not my sister's, of course." I stopped, waiting for some response from him. When he said nothing, I continued, "I won't detail every person's every thought—I'm not a machine. But everything that's important, everything that you _need_ to know to win this war, once and for all, will be at your fingertips."

He turned from me, the volume of the notes rising and drowning out his other thoughts as he walked back toward his seat. "I don't need you, Edward, or anyone else. We have truth on our side—our cause is great enough to ensure that we are the victors." He waved his hand at me as if dismissing me.

"You're a collector, Aro. You won't be able to stand it if you don't have her in your Guard. Either of us. There are no others with our powers, and you know it." I took a breath, leveling my stare to look him directly in the eye. "You know I'll figure out a way to get her out of this no matter what. I won't stop until I do."

His mouth spread wide in a maniacal grin. "And you'll allow me to collect _you_, Edward?"

"I am a man of my word, Aro. I will pledge allegiance to you and do everything in my power to help you win your war. When it's done, so are we."

"Your only condition to this arrangement is that both you and Alice are free when the war is over."

"No, aside from her freedom and ensuring her safety during the Challenge, there is one other condition. Our thoughts are our own, and you must guarantee that. If you touch either of us from this point forward, the deal is off and both of us go free."

He sat, still as a stone, for minutes that seemed to drag. The downside of immortality: time had no meaning, especially to the ruling class. I would have to wait until he saw fit to answer.

Finally, he stood and held his hand out to me in a gesture of implied acceptance. "It seems we have an arrangement."

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><p><strong>End AN: So, yeah. This is the prologue, and we'll catch up to this point in chapter 5 (I think). I'm going to do something a little different with <strong>_**il Sensale**_**. You've got questions? The characters have answers! Each week, you can fill out this form: bit (dot) ly /iSquestion and ask almost any character any question that you want. I'll pick one and post it (along with the answer) on my blog at www (dot) kassiah (dot) com on Tuesday night at 7pm CST. See? It's like reality tv. **_**Sort of.**_** As usual, there's some extra stuffs on my blog—check it out if you want to. I can't wait to see what ya'll think about this. See you next week!**


	2. 2 Running Out of Time

**AN: Thank you to my fuckawesome beta, nicnicd, for always being there and being awesome. Your eyes are brown… lol A million kisses for TwiSherry—I'm sure she's sick of this already. Thank you to Katinki and Kherisma and my official prereader, Saranic. Thanks to you, for reading. I'm so happy that you're still here. **

**Disclaimer: You know.**

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><p><strong>il Sensale Chapter Two: Running Out of Time<strong>

"There is _no_ such thing."

"They're real!"

"There's no such thing as a _werewolf_."

"Edward Cullen, I'm telling you right now, you better shut up, or I'll…"

At the sight of her raised fist and the fierce expression on her face, I fought against laughter. As a vampire, she was certainly as deadly as I was, especially with her gifts, but her overall tininess had always seemed at odds with her strength. I raised my eyebrows in challenge. "You'll what? _Hit me?_ Because I don't believe in _werewolves_?"

Huffing, she crossed her arms over her chest and sat down. "They're real, Edward. Just because you've never seen it or experienced something doesn't mean it's not real. It's like soul mates, which is, by the way, a real thing. The wolves, they're coming back. The Prophecy says..."

I held my hand up to derail that _particular _train of thought. "Stop right there. I don't want to hear any more about this Prophecy business. Alice," I paused so that she would look up and realize how serious I was. "This isn't our war. We are _not_ getting involved."

"Not our war? How can you say that? Are you crazy?" She looked at me, indignant. Her total belief in The Cause and everything that the Volturi stood for was etched into her features.

Rolling my eyes at her, I laughed. I picked up a small stone from the ground beside me and stared at it. If I wanted to I could crush it quicker than forcing myself to blink an eye. I tossed it up and down lightly, handling it with the utmost care, and then flicked my wrist, watching it skip smoothly across the lake.

"You've always been so _dramatic_. You can't believe everything you read, Sis." Snatches of recent articles flashed through my mind, reminding me of the lengths that the Volturi would go to in their efforts to spread their Message. "It's called propaganda. Aro and his cronies want all of us to believe all that awful Transylvanian shit they sling. Who are we to say who's wrong or right here?"

She gasped, raising ruby red eyes to peer at me in the way only she could. They were too dark, crimson nearly eclipsed by onyx, as were mine. We needed to feed.

_How can you say that?_ A brief flicker of hurt passed along her thoughts, mirrored in her expression. She didn't appreciate me questioning her precious Cause and the ideals it stood for. Though I didn't like hurting her feelings, strove always to avoid it, I fervently wished she'd snap out of it already—her naïveté shocked me at times.

Alice looked away from me, gazing instead across the lake. I made up my mind to apologize to her, showing her my contrition in a way she'd be able to see. It was an elaborate apology, all pleading and joking until she smiled, which we both knew I'd probably never do. She always said it was the thought that counted, though, and that she liked seeing how things could possibly go if I gave into the "nice guy I kept locked away".

She didn't acknowledge it this time. Her thoughts, which I tried to keep out as often as I was able, transitioned into translating the words of _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ into Russian.

Knowing she wanted me to leave her be for a while, I jumped up and started to walk away. Though I couldn't turn off my gift, I knew my range well, and just how far to go to give both her and myself privacy—it wasn't like I _wanted_ to know the inner musings of my sister's mind. Over the years, the only problems we'd ever encountered were when she needed to work something out or concentrate, or when she needed to focus but didn't want me in her head. So, we worked out a signal: she'd start concentrating on the book, and I'd leave the vicinity.

Besides, no one could sneak up on Alice, and I was never more than a shout away if danger was near.

She was so used to that tale, it was almost like a second nature to her to be able to recall and sort through her thoughts. Sometimes, she just needed to be alone. Though we both knew I could break through and read her mind if I really wanted to, I tried to respect her privacy.

Once I was far enough away, cloaked in a blissful silence, I found a narrow section of the lake and leaped it, settling myself onto a large, flat stone on the opposite side of the lake from Alice. I needed to figure out something, _anythin_g, to take my sister's mind off of this absurd Prophecy.

It was a stretch for me, no matter how many times I'd witnessed it both in verbal and non-verbal form, to comprehend how humans would believe in such nonsense. Vampires, with their centuries of experience, was another matter altogether. I didn't understand how practically all of the vampires who roamed the Earth could go along with the predictions of this so called Prophecy: werewolves, alliances and divisions never previously imagined, and a war to end all wars.

It was ridiculous.

Night was beginning to fall when Alice's voice echoed through the woods surrounding me. "Edward, come back. I'm ready to talk to you now." The fact that she called out to me instead of beckoning me with her thoughts proved her trust in me. She asked me not to listen and knew I'd gone far enough away to give her what little solitude I could offer.

Hours of sitting inert had given me the need for a challenge. Moving quickly, I found a wider spot in the lake and gained enough momentum to cross it in one bound. I landed easily, unsurprised to find Alice there a mere one-hundredth of a second before I landed.

She shook her head at my easy landing. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist that one."

I crouched down in front of her so she'd look at me. "I'm sorry, Al. I don't mean to make you think that I don't respect your choice to believe the way you do. I just—I don't understand why you allow yourself to get sucked in to this…"

_Stop._ Though she didn't have to, she began to speak aloud. "I said I was ready to talk to _you _now, not continue to be lectured by you. I know you don't understand it—I get that." She looked up at me, imploring. "Just like I don't always understand why you keep yourself locked away. But it's my _destiny_, Edward. It's what I was born to do."

Frustrated, I began to pace, fighting the urge to growl at her. We'd had this conversation a thousand times before, each and every one resulting in a stalemate. "Fuck, Alice. _What?_ What is it you insist that you were born to do?"

I didn't have to be a mind reader to sense the sadness she was feeling. This was one vision that she wanted to have, and it irritated her that it eluded her at every step. "You know that I don't know that, not yet. But I'll let you know as soon as I know." Standing up, she grabbed my hand and held it tightly in hers. "All I do know is that this war is going to bring me true happiness. I'm destined to do something great, something important."

I did growl this time. "Really, Alice? You have to have a fucking _war_ to meet your mate? How many times do I have to tell you that there's no such thing? And don't get me started on _destiny _again."

The urge to destroy, to rip and flay and tear to pieces, was so great that I stalked over to the nearest tree and uprooted it—anything to not get my hands on her neck. The blast it made when it split apart two more wasn't nearly as satisfying.

_Are you done with your tantrum, yet?_

I turned back to her, still incensed. "No, I'm not. You want a mate? Fine, we'll take a trip to Italy! There are tons of vampires over there that would kill to get a piece of you. Or would you rather head down South?"

"Shut up, jerk. I said I was going to find my mate, not get laid!" She stamped her foot, glaring at me.

I glared back. I wasn't backing down from this, not when she could get herself ripped to shreds and burned.

I heard her decide to switch tactics. She looked at me, deliberately switching her features to pleading, something she knew I couldn't stand to say no to. "It's true, Edward. Each one of us is broken. We're not whole—not until we meet the one person who was made for us. She will complete you and together, you will be stronger as a pair than you ever could be separately or with anyone else. It might not make sense now, but it will, once you meet her."

"It's not true." I shook my head deliberately so she could see how little I held to her belief. "You make your own way. You don't need destiny to guide you, Alice, or a mate to make you stronger. You just want to justify your desires."

"No," she responded fiercely, tone ringing double in both the air and my mind, "it's more. It's _everything_. And it's coming, soon. Something is going to happen— I can feel it."

"No, it isn't. Nothing has happened for the last 200 years and nothing's going to happen now. We have eternity, Alice. We're free to do as we please, not let time pass us by. Fuck whoever you want. You _choose_ to believe you have a 'mate', and you continue to delude yourself. This isn't our war."

Dropping my hand, she began to pace back and forth. "You keep telling me that we're not getting involved, but you're wrong, Edward. I know what my destiny is, and I have to follow it. You're my brother, and I love you, but you don't make my decisions for me. It isn't just about me finding my mate. The fact of the matter is that the Transylvanians want to control us. They want to _end_ our way of life. Hell, if they had the chance, they'd probably end us all."

"Would you listen to yourself?" I yelled, exasperated. "_End us all?_ Do you really believe that?"

"They believe in their Cause as much as we do ours," she yelled back at me, her tiny fists clenched in restraint. "They have to be wrong or else we wouldn't be going into this war!"

"We _personally _know someone who proves that just because they follow the Transylvanians' way of life doesn't mean everyone who does is 'evil'," I muttered.

At this reminder, she crumpled to the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees and letting out a deep wail.

I was up in a flash, calling out to her and trying to get her to come back from wherever her sight had taken her. "What? What is it? Where's the danger, Alice?"

Though she was stone still, catatonic even, I cast my enhanced senses out and searched our immediate area for danger. I was perched on the balls of my feet and ready to dash away with her at the first sign of trouble.

There was nothing—we were alone. The danger wasn't anywhere close to us, meaning it was focused on someone else. A sense of dread filled me.

Complete helplessness overtook me as I looked into her eyes, as distant and lifeless as our pasts were. Having been Alice's companion for centuries and witness to many, many visions, nothing had ever prepared me for the absolute grief in her features.

Holding her to my chest, I called her name and tried to break her from her trance, even as I witnessed her horrific vision with my own "extra" sense.

We sat still as the stones we were for whatever length of time her vision took to play out. She came to with a gasp, the terror on her face mirroring my own despondent voice. We said it at the same time.

"Carlisle."

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><p><strong>End AN: Lots more info, right? haha So. Last time, I told you about the Q&amp;A thing, where you can ask a character from <strong>_**il Sensale**_** a question. Last week, someone asked Edward: _"Who is the 'striking woman' you caught a glimpse of in Aro's mind?"_ Check out his answer on my blog at www(dot)kassiah(dot)com and ask your own question with this form: ****bit (dot) ly /iSquestion. I'll pick a question and post it (along with the answer) on my blog at www(dot)kassiah(dot)com on Tuesday night at 7pm CST. You've seen the teaser posters; you can ask almost any character anything. Even characters that we haven't met yet. Thanks for reading—see you next week!**


	3. 3 Believe the Word

**AN: There aren't words enough to thank nicnicd. Not only is she incredibly pretty, she's superfast and makes all of this readable. Trust—you don't want inside my head without her to navigate you around. I finished this too late to send to any prereaders, but I appreciate them all the same. Thanks for reading. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own. I have an atlas, that's about it.**

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><p><strong>Il Sensale Chapter Three – Believe the Word<strong>

Alice's gift was not as easily explained as mine. Where my ability to read thoughts was pretty straight forward, only suffering from a lack of physical distance, hers was more up in the air. They depended on decisions-hers, mine, someone else's.

Alice had visions all the time for any number of reasons: she picked her clothes depending on the weather or whether humans would be around in large groups—it wasn't easy to explain shorts and a tee shirt in subzero temperatures—or searched for the best spot to hunt undetected, a place for us to spend a few days, or a stock market trend that would reap favorable results. These were simple visions, cut and dry and easily discernable.

The trances, however, were totally different. They could last several minutes or several hours, but one thing was always consistent—they never meant good news. Body rigid and eyes unfocused, she'd sit and lose herself in the future, sifting through possibilities until the outcome was clear.

I'd been witness to many of these over the years and knew time was of the essence in stopping the ones most harmful to our way of life.

Part of me didn't want to know the fate had befallen the person closest to me besides my sister. _Please, not Carlisle._ I shook my head, willing it to just go away. I was so sick of this stupid fucking war—how many people had to die before they realized that it wasn't worth it?

"Go back, Alice, focus on the details. Again," I demanded, leaping swiftly from my perch beside her to pace.

I could have easily replayed the scene again in my own mind, but I needed her to help me—perhaps I had missed something that would reveal where they were or what events led up to the suffocating blackness.

She was still half lost in her daze when my voice split the silence. Peering up at me, she huffed once and reached for my hands, which were curled into fists at my side. She pulled me down to sit next to her again, admonishment the overall tone of her thoughts.

_Calm down. You know I can't concentrate when you're like this._

Aware of the fact that my jaw was clenched so tightly I would soon pulverize my own teeth, I nodded once to let her know I was trying to compose myself. I took a deep breath and ran my hand through my hair before wrapping my arm around her shoulder and pulling her close to me.

Her body trembled as she sat next to me—if she could cry, I was sure she'd be sobbing. As soon as I had a grip on my emotions, she concentrated on the vision she'd had, sharing it with me through her mind.

_Surrounded by a vast forest, a timeless, graceful house stood tall and white. In the distance, the sound of swiftly flowing water and rustling leaves lent a serene quality to the vision. Carlisle, smiling widely at his wife, Esme, stood in front of the house. Reaching out, he pulled her close and lifted her up, twirling her around and around. Their laughter rang out through the trees as he bounded up the steps of the porch toward the front door with her in his arms. _

_His feet were on the third step for only a margin of a second before he stopped and turned around. His posture hardened as he peered into the nearby forest, grip tightening on his wife at some perceived threat. Abruptly, he sat her down on her feet and pushed her behind him, stance protective and arms wide. His nostrils flared and…_

Everything went black.

"What is that?" I croaked. "What happened? Your visions have never just stopped like that."

Cutting off her vision, she wrapped her arms around her legs. Rocking back and forth, she kept repeating, "He's gone. He's gone. I'm so sorry—he's gone."

"What do you mean 'He's gone'? You didn't see the end, so you could be wrong. Go back, I need to look closer. "

"That's it. There's nothing else, Edward. I can't … I don't even know." She continued to rock back and forth. "I don't know what happened, but he's gone."

There had to be something more. We didn't even know where they were. "_Concentrate._ Where are they? The States? Are they abroad? Think, Alice."

Closing her eyes, she rested her forehead against her knees and became still for several minutes. I watched with her, anxious and ready to grab her and run as soon as we had an answer. I concentrated on the scenery, the towering pine trees and ferns ringing the property. Northwestern United States, maybe, or possibly even Canada. There was a flash of...something before she cut off the vision abruptly. Snapping her eyes up to meet mine, she thought hard at me, _"Let's go. Now."_

Running at top speed, we burst through the last bit of trees of Mount Evans and arrived at the spot we'd parked our SUV three days before.

She made it to the back of the vehicle first, almost tearing the metal from the frame as she wrenched open the hatch. I saw the atlas in her thoughts a split second before she slapped it down on the hood.

Page after page scattered in the wind as she ripped them out haphazardly before finally reaching the map she was searching for. She turned to me triumphantly, pointing at a place on a map in Washington State. "This is it! That's where he is. Or was. Right here—that's where it all ended."

"You're positive?" I asked, already calculating the distance and time needed to reach our destination.

An uncharacteristically grave expression crossed my sister's face as I looked at the location she was pointing to.

"...Or, Forks, Washington is where it's all going to _start_."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Alice didn't say a word the entire trip; instead, she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, focusing on what she had seen. Her visions consisted mostly of stifling black darkness, with occasional flashes of bright colors. The large white house. Carlisle's smiling face. Green trees. And that weird flash of something brown that neither of us could identify before everything went blank.

We didn't understand it—her visions had never been quite like that, and it made us all the more desperate to get to him. I watched along with her, trying to identify anything that would let us know if this was the distant future or if we had time. There was nothing. I also kept an ear out for speed traps ahead as the tires ate up the miles until Forks, Washington in record speed.

I pitied the police officer who tried to get in our way.

I just hoped we'd get there in time to do something.

Once we arrived in Forks, Alice gave more directions until we pulled up in front of the looming white house from her vision. I hadn't even turned the vehicle off when Carlisle and Esme appeared on the porch steps, looking surprised but ecstatic to see us.

Relief washed over both Alice and me as we opened our doors and all but flew up the steps. I was closest to Esme, who I pulled into a tight hug. Alice mimicked my actions with Carlisle.

"You're all right. We're so glad you're okay."

Carlisle smiled and moved to hug me, as well. "Edward, it's so good to see you! What are you doing here? How'd you know where to find—ah, never mind. Alice."

Nodding toward my sister, I responded, "Yes, she knew when to get here."

That seemed to be all he needed to hear to understand. He had been around us enough to know how her visions worked. "You saw…_me_?" he questioned.

Her voice was barely above a whisper as she answered him. "Yes. I thought you were…gone."

Carlisle's gaze narrowed as he looked out into the lush forest that surrounded his beautiful house. "Come on inside, you two," he said. He grabbed Esme's hand with one of his and outstretched the other toward the door. "I suppose you'll want to hear the whole story."

I tried to glean a bit of the _whole story_ from his thoughts as we crossed through the foyer to a lush white living room, but he blocked me. Yes, Carlisle had been around me and Alice enough to know how our gifts worked, as well as how to evade them.

The living room, though spacious and well appointed, was so unnecessary, but Carlisle and Esme had always been all about keeping up pretenses. Not that anyone would ever come visit them—humans sensed our kind's otherness perceptively, keeping well away from us as best they could.

They weren't always able to completely elude us, though.

Esme offered us a seat, a welcoming but superfluous gesture, and, not wanting to make light of her hospitality, we settled onto the sofa. At times, the way she'd always doted on us like we were her children could be unnerving, but other times, like now, the familiarity was comforting.

Carlisle waited for his wife to sit down beside him before he began to speak. He drew a deep breath and looked directly at me as he said, "The Prophecy is true."

The absolute joy that filled Alice's head set my nerves on edge. Standing roughly from my seat, I bared my teeth at Carlisle. "Is that what this is about? We came here for you to fill her head with more of this bullshit?"

"Edward, please," Carlisle pled with me. "Sit down, Son. Let me explain."

I couldn't believe that we had come all this way, worried that something terrible had happened, and for _nothing_. This Prophecy nonsense was really starting to get on my fucking nerves.

Esme's thoughts, so panicked and stricken, made me feel bad for reacting so strongly. I went to stand in front of the huge windows, intermittently casting my gaze around the amassed antiques that filled the house as I tried to calm down. I worked hard to block out the minds around me, knowing that they would only set me off again.

Outside, the forest surrounding us was vast, secluded, and it wasn't hard to see why they chose to settle here. I wanted to run outside, escape into the trees, dragging my sister with me. I wished I'd never heard of this blasted Prophecy. I wanted to be away from this war that she seemed to be so dead set on getting us involved in. I wished that what we believed in didn't matter to others. If Carlisle accepted us, why couldn't the Transylvanians? Were we really so different?

"He needs to know."

Sighing, I turned toward the spot where Alice and Carlisle were whispering frantically, not really wanting to join in their ridiculous conversation. Just as I opened my mouth to tell Alice that we were going for a walk, my mind registered Esme's soft voice, calling out to me.

_Please, darling boy, come and sit._ She beckoned me with a tense smile.

She and Alice had switched places, leaving her alone while the believers traded tales. Walking over to the spot I'd vacated only minutes before, I continued my attempt in avoiding Carlisle and Alice. It wasn't working, so I turned my attention to the female beside me. "Go ahead," I murmured.

Relieved, she pulled me to sit beside her and wrapped her arms around me, slowly rocking us back and forth. Her mind was filled with thoughts of our history together, whispered words of affection for Alice and me, and the monumental loss of her baby decades ago. Wanting to alleviate her sadness, even though I knew it was temporary and would never be enough, I allowed her to hold me like that for a few moments. She needed to be maternal for awhile, and I needed to relax and escape from the foreboding that I felt in the pit of my stomach.

The calm before the storm, as it were.

Finally, my need to control the situation overtook my desire to allow Esme her moment of motherly bliss. I sat up and looked to my left, where my sister and my friend sat with a grim expression on their faces.

_You're sure you're ready to hear this, Son?_

I nodded, indicating I was ready to listen to what he had to say.

"As I said before, the Prophecy is real. It's true," he began, taking a deep breath and showing me what we hadn't been able to see through Alice's vision.

The scene was from his perspective, slightly altered from Alice's vision. The house was bathed in a soft light, the pink and purple of a setting summer sun painting its brushstrokes over the clapboard exterior. Esme's face beamed down at us, love etched into her soft features as she was spun in wide circles. The sound of the river was still there, but louder now, the splash of fish and water breaking over rocks present due to Carlisle's keen hearing. It was something that didn't always translate in Alice's visions, a vampire's senses.

And the smell… It was horrible, a rancid odor that, though I'd never encountered it before, instantly put me on alert. I had to fight back the instinct to crouch down and _protect_.

In the vision, Carlisle pushed Esme behind him just as a huge wolf stepped out from the forest, hackles raised and growling fiercely.

"You actually saw it? Why didn't it attack you?" How do you know it wasn't just a wolf?"

"I don't really know how to explain it. It was as if, instinctively, he knew I wouldn't hurt him unless provoked. He seemed to be as surprised to see me as I was to see him." Carlisle looked at my unconvinced expression. "To answer your last question, I knew it wasn't _just _a wolf because he changed in front of me, Edward."

"Into a man? You actually saw the wolf change into a man?"

_Yes._

"I don't believe this!" I jumped up and began to pace. "It just…the Prophecy can't be real. Alice." I looked at my sister, willing her to understand. We still weren't getting involved. "This doesn't change anything, Alice."

She stood up, her tiny fists clenched at her sides. "How can you say that, Edward?"

"It doesn't matter," I said, shaking my head. "This isn't our war." We stared at each other, neither willing to back down.

_There's more._ Carlisle's "voice" rang out.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, willing it all to just go away. "More?"

"Yes. This wolf, his name is Jacob. He's the leader of a tribe of Native Americans that have been in this area for hundreds of years. They have a prophecy of their own."

"This gets better and better," I said, unable to bite back the sarcasm.

"No," Alice growled. "You will listen, and you _will _let him have his say. We're in his home, and you'll show him some respect."

I glared at her, deciding on a multitude of different ways to flee with her right now. I'd sit on her myself to keep her safe.

_You know I'll find a way out of any of those scenarios. _

"And I'll know before you do."

She slipped back into the spot she'd left off with her translations earlier. I flicked her ear and turned back to Carlisle. He and Esme were watching us with amused expressions.

"Sorry," I said.

He glanced over at his wife, who gave him a reassuring smile, before he continued. "Jacob is a Quileute, and the tribe he leads has a prophecy foretelling a huge war crossing lines that the ancients did not yet understand. Basically, it boils down to the same thing our Prophecy predicts, with eerie similarities. The beginning of the impending 'war to end all wars' will be marked by the one of them coming across what they call 'The Cold Ones'."

This brought a laugh to my mouth. "Isn't that what humans call beer?"

Carlisle looked at me for a moment before responding, "They're not human."

Shrugging, I asked, "So that's the 'eerie similarity'? Your Prophecy says 'you'll see them', theirs says 'they'll see you', and now we all have fight and die for a Cause none of us truly believe in?"

"No, Edward, it's not that simple. Both the Quileute prophecy and _our_ Prophecy," he corrected, "foretell of the same event occurring. Seeing each other is just the sign that it's about to happen."

I shook my head. "It's not our Prophecy, though. I don't believe in this garbage. I don't understand why any of you do, either."

"It matters not whether you believe, Son. It's the truth. Regardless of whether you want it to or not, a war is coming."

I paused in my steps in front of a large wooden cross hanging near the stairs. Blocking out Alice's distracting Russian, I stared at the religious symbol and closed my eyes.

"You and your religious convictions. First, the Church, and now, this. When will it stop, Carlisle?"

He was silent for a moment, his mind flashing back to his father and his transformation. _You'll lose her if you try to make her choose. Don't impose your beliefs on her, Edward. _

"My beliefs?" I questioned, enraged. "I don't believe any of this! How can you of all people support this cause? You live _their_ lifestyle!"

"Edward!" Alice shrieked, as if I had slapped her across the face.

I turned to look at the gathered inhabitants of the room. Esme and Alice stood near the foyer, arms crossed in near identical gestures of annoyance. They looked at each other and then went to the kitchen.

"Enough," Carlisle warned, eyes flashing hot anger. "My lifestyle isn't up for discussion. There are others who follow a more humane diet than the Volturi, and that doesn't make them Romanian-supporters. Above all, we should remain respectful of other people's choices."

"Respectful? How do you expect us to do that when there will be a war dividing us even further? The Prophecy also predicts that the line has something to do with the color of our eyes. How will you get out of that one? How will you protect your wife, then?"

_Aro will not allow his Guard to harm me._

I scoffed at that. "What makes you so sure?"

_You know our history._ His mind recalled some of his past dealings with the Volturi royalty, shortly after he was transformed. Before he decided that his path in life was one more _humane _than the majority of his kind. _We're friends._

"Friends." I repeated, disdainful. "Who needs enemies with friends like him?"

Esme's sweet voice cracked through the tension that surrounded us. "There's more to this than food choices, Edward."

"You're right, Esme. Regardless, we're not getting involved, and I've had enough of this. Alice, we're leaving."

I glanced in the direction where Esme stood, expecting Alice to be behind her. She wasn't there. Esme smiled sadly.

"Alice!" I called out, wondering where the hell she'd gone.

Casting my senses out, I searched for her but caught nothing. Either she was outside of my range, or...

"Damnit," I muttered. "Tricky little brat."

Running out to the porch, I called out to her again, with no answer. Something told me I already knew where she'd gone, so I raced back into the house and gathered our belongings, shoving them into Alice's bright pink bag and heading back out to the car.

Esme followed me, telling me not to worry with her thoughts, that Alice had promised her it would be okay while Carlisle and I were arguing. I gave her a terse hug and opened the door to toss the bag inside.

"I'm sorry for the argument, Esme," I said, pulling away from her. "I really need to go now, though. Stop her before she gets too far away."

"Good luck with that," she remarked. "Be safe, please."

I nodded and then sat inside the vehicle. There was a folded piece of paper on the passenger seat. Unfolding it, I recognized Alice's handwriting and was immediately filled with dread at the words I found written there.

_Dear Edward, _

_Destiny. You say there's no such thing, that you make your own way. Whether that's true or I'm making my own choices by making this decision, I'm not waiting around for it anymore. You're my brother, and I love you, but I have to follow my heart. I'll see you in two days. You know where I'll be waiting for you._

_Love,  
>Alice<em>

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><p><strong>AN, part deux: <strong>***gasp* Where did she go? Remember the Q&A thang, where you get to ask a character from **_**il Sensale**_** a question? Last week, someone asked Carlisle: **_**"Why do you dress like you're gay?"**_** hee Check out his answer on my blog and ask your own question with this form: bit (dot) ly /iSquestion. I'll pick a question and post it (along with the answer) on my blog at www(dot)kassiah(dot)com on Tuesday night. There's also a bunch of other stuff there, like pics of their SUV. Guess what kind it is? lol**

**Oh yeah. **_**il Sensale**_** was chosen as Indie Fic Pimp's New Story of the Week and was rec'd by LuckyIrishTart on her blog. Thanks for that :) Thanks for reading—see you next week!**


	4. 4 The Doctor Made Me

**AN: nicnicd makes all my words readable and for that, I'm eternally grateful. I wish she'd post her new story already, so you could see how awesome that girl is. I was too late this week to send to prereaders again. I suck, I know. Thank you for reading anyway.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I do like extra whipped cream in my macchiato, though.**

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><p><strong>il Sensale – Chapter 4: The Doctor Made Me<strong>

I never understood the human fascination with coffee, not even when I was one. I vaguely remember it being bitter and strong, and nowadays most partakers had to doctor it to an almost unrecognizable state just to enjoy it.

It was nothing like blood. Blood was nuanced, different from person to person. Some humans followed the old adage that their body was a temple, and treated it as such. Those were my favorites—all pure and sweet and delectable. Then there were the ones who didn't care, ingesting drug after drug after food and alcohol that was bad for them. They were the ones who tasted of sickness and decay, spoiled and rotting like meat left in the sun—which, come to think of it, was an apt description. Food, meat: a herd of cattle grazing in fenced pastures; vagrants trying to fight against the elements inside abandoned warehouses.

I rarely fed on that particular group, though I'd had to break my streak a scant hour earlier. There was simply no way I could go in search of Alice when our hunting trip had been cut short in the first place due to her vision.

Gripping the cup of disgusting liquid tightly in my hand, I stared at it in contempt and raised it to my lips for a feigned swallow. The sunglasses I wore to hide my vibrant ruby tinged eyes irritated me. I glanced around at the patrons of the cramped atmosphere of Finch's café surreptitiously, glad I'd had the foresight to feed on the trip here. Scents swirling, hearts thumping, blood pumping—I wasn't used to such restraint and the burn in my throat had reached an almost overwhelming level when I felt Carlisle's hand on my shoulder.

"Calm down, Son. Not much longer," he murmured too low for human ears.

The humans, long attracted to our otherworldness, the perfected features and striking beauty that we used to draw them in, glanced at us in fascination. Whispering behind cupped fingers, imagining things that would only lead to their untimely deaths if we were to fulfill those wishes...

Standing too quickly to maintain my mortal façade, I turned to make my way toward the exit when the door of the café opened, bringing in a brisk breeze that diffused the tempting scent somewhat—along with my sister.

Finally.

"You kept me waiting a long time," I said, grabbing her and pulling her forward into my arms. "I was so worried. Don't do that again."

Alice shook her head and scoffed at me. "Always so dramatic. I'm not going to break, you know."

Rolling her eyes at me, she removed herself from my tight grip and glanced over to where Carlisle and Esme were seated, smiling and waving at them. She seemed so happy, so calm, like the teenage girl she could pretend to be as she headed to buy a macchiato with extra whipped cream. It was only the Russian words trailing through her thoughts that gave her away.

_...a man of a rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary and yet somehow lovable._

Normally I left her to her translations, but today I allowed myself to decipher them.

She was hiding something.

Just before we reached the counter, she turned to me. "I know you know something's up. Just…give me a minute, okay? I promise that I'll tell you, but first I have to show you something. Carlisle needs to…" She trailed off, tilting her head.

A woman's face flashed briefly through her thoughts, alone and sitting on an ancient...

..._all human beings... are commingled out of good and evil._

"Stop, Alice," I insisted. "_Just tell me_. Right now."

"Carlisle needs to see something first. And trust me, I can't tell you in here."

As her visions of what would happen flashed through her mind, I gripped the table next to us, seemingly to hold myself in place. The loud roar that came from me in her vision was barely recognizable as I overturned tables and snapped the necks of the innocent café patrons, flinging them carelessly aside. My fingers crushed the wood as I saw myself sinking my teeth into one of the unlucky women seated at a nearby booth.

She was the one with the particularly perverse thoughts, a woman who liked a bit of pain mixed in with her sexual encounters.

The burn in my throat was like fire. Though I hardly needed to feed again, I felt my muscles start to spring instinctively as I swallowed back the venom that flowed incessantly.

_No!_

Her thoughts startled me for a moment, just long enough to give me pause. She placed her hand on top of mine, her expression imploring, begging almost. I cut off my breath instantly to will myself into a state of calm.

"We don't have much time until we're on our way," she stated softly, looking at Carlisle and Esme but never loosening her grip of my hand.

Looking up at the ceiling of the old café, I frowned, steeling my instincts into something less predatory. She'd envisioned my destruction of the entire café, something that would be simple enough to play off as an explosion, but with the eyes in Italy pointed at all the periodicals across the globe, would be highly suspect. And I still didn't know what had caused the reaction...

I needed to calm down before I thrust us into more immediate attention. I was trying to keep her away from those bastards, not throw her headlong into the den of vipers.

We made our way over to Carlisle and Esme at the bar, and I tried to be patient as they exchanged pleasantries. Unfortunately, my patience was wearing extremely thin.

_This is important, Edward. _The fact that she hadn't said this out loud confused me, but I'd stopped trying to figure my sister out years before this. Her "voice" broke me from my musings yet again. _Whatever you do, don't screw this up. I need to see his reaction without your influence._

Furrowing my brow for a moment, I ran my free hand through my hair before looking her in the eye. The reflection of myself in her eyes scared me—I looked like the animal I was. "Maybe I should wait outside—all these people," I said, gesturing my hand toward the full café.

_Stay, please._ "Thought you didn't want me out of your sight?" she chided out loud.

Deciding to play along, I rolled my eyes and smiled, concealing the fact that I was extremely overwhelmed. I needed out of this place. After experiencing my thirst through her vision, I needed to feed again. And I needed to know what the fuck my sister had done that would cause that kind of reaction from me.

I nodded, hating the lack of my senses that cutting off my breathing brought about. I settled for casting my extra sense out in case danger lurked near.

"Now that we've got that settled," Carlisle said, "why don't you show me what you wanted me to see, Alice?" Clapping a hand on my shoulder, he laughed a stilted laugh that almost covered his concern for me at the moment.

Glancing at me so quickly I was sure no one else had noticed, she pulled out a worn piece of paper that had been folded several times. _Not a word, please_, she begged, as she released my hand to smooth the paper in front of us on the table.

She had drawn the face of a woman with long, dark hair and wide, expressive eyes. They were dark, though because that was their natural tint or she was one of our kind who needed to feed, I couldn't tell. She was strikingly beautiful, almost classic with full lips and smooth skin. The rendering was flawless; Alice's penchant for capturing the very essence of a subject had always astounded me.

Covering a gasp with a slight chuckle, Carlisle looked at Alice, his skin seeming to pale even more than usual. Suddenly, soft notes from an opera began to play in his mind. I flexed my fingers at his subtle attempts to block me, as if he didn't want to alert me to the fact that he was doing it. Which was simply ludicrous—I always knew when I was being blocked. Because Alice had insisted that I make no mention of it, I said nothing, instead focusing on the woman in the drawing.

"Who do we have here?" Esme's question interrupted whatever Carlisle had been about to say. Tracing her fingers over the drawing, she beamed at Alice. "She's absolutely beautiful, sweetheart. Did you meet her on your trip?"

Our tense conversation, or perhaps just my overall demeanor, had caught the attention of a young man in a corner booth. He fancied himself a writer, the trappings of his ilk spread out before him in the form of a laptop with a word processing program open and a never ending cup of black coffee.

Alice noticed my attention flickering, and glanced at him covertly, too. There was a brief burst of a book cover in her mind, cover all black and grey and ominous. Laughing like a silly girl, she licked her bottom lip slowly, glancing at Carlisle for another moment before dropping into the empty seat at his side. "Dad, please can't I have the credit card?" she asked loudly. "Anthony even offered to drive me. If you'd buy me a car, though, he wouldn't have to..."

Carlisle, catching on, played his part for the next few minutes while I sat and stewed.

When he finally "gave in" to his "daughter's" machinations, she clapped her hands and turned to Esme, slipping easily back into the previous conversation at a much lower pitch. To the outside world, she simply looked like a spoiled kid, gossiping with her mother about sales.

"Not exactly. I think I saw her somewhere, but I can't remember. I drew this on my way back to you," she said, gesturing to the paper and smiling innocently. "I was hoping Carlisle had seen her somewhere and could help me place her."

"Me?" he asked, clearly surprised. "Why would you think I had seen her, Alice?"

She sighed, smiling down at the woman on the paper before folding it and tucking back in her bag. "That's what I thought, Carlisle. I don't know where I've…" she trailed off, shaking her head.

The tinkling of the bell on the door of Finch's Café startled all four of us. Carlisle sprang up, almost too fast to go unnoticed by the humans surrounding us. Young Hemmingway in the corner certainly noticed it.

"I think it's time to go, dear," he said softly to his wife. "Are you sure you won't come back to Forks with us, you two?"

As Esme wrapped her arms around Alice, I clapped Carlisle on the back, aware of the music that still played in his mind, though the opera that had originally looped through his thoughts had been replaced with words from "Look for the Silver Lining."

"No, we have to head out," I replied quietly, playing my part of the sulky older brother that would rather be anywhere else than the mall. I hugged Esme and guided my sister toward the door. We bid them goodbye when we reached the sidewalk outside the café, promising to not go so long before seeing them again. Carlisle smiled sadly when we shook hands one last time before departing in the opposite direction.

"Aro?" I asked Alice when he flashed through her mind.

She nodded. _Carlisle was thinking of him. There's a park just ahead. We need to sit down for a minute and decide where to go from here._

An all-too-familiar sense of foreboding pressed down on me. I could feel the changes coming and couldn't attribute the oppression to hunger. Something was happening, and I feared that I wouldn't be able to stop it. Even though I wanted to grab her and run as far away as possible, I followed her to a bench in the middle of the park and sat like she requested.

We sat there for what felt like an eternity. The open air of the park was the perfect place to allow myself to breathe once more—the playground teeming with children and parents was far enough away, the breeze blowing behind us thankfully. I let my thoughts calm, let Alice's recitation of her book become a soothing background noise.

Finally, she opened her mouth to speak. "We'll head to New York to hunt—we won't be detected with the atrocities that are going on in that city." Cards being shuffled, roulette wheels spinning, crowds cheering filled her mind. "Then, I think a trip to Atlantic City is in order."

"In the mood to take a gamble, sis?"

_Something like that._

"It must be really bad if you're willing to let us go into the city to actually hunt and not to brave the latest sales at Barney's."

She laughed and shook her head slightly. "It's not bad," she whispered. _I just need you to trust me._

"I do trust you, Alice. But that doesn't mean that I like everything you do. If you didn't know whatever you've done was going to be wrong, you would've told me about it first. You wouldn't have run away and done it in secret."

_You didn't leave me with much choice._

"Why do you do that? Blame everything on me? I'm only trying to keep you safe!"

_You can't save me from my destiny, Edward._

"Oh, Alice, for the love of all that is holy, don't start with that again!" I ground out, shifting in my seat so as to not draw attention our way. When, really, I wanted to break something.

"Don't you want to hunt first?" she asked.

I scoffed. "You know just as well as I do that I've already hunted. Just tell me. You're here, so whatever it is, it 'can't be that bad'."

She sighed and pulled the picture from her back pocket again, pointedly ignoring the way I threw her words back at her. "What was Carlisle thinking when he saw this?"

"Nothing. He purposely wouldn't register this woman in his thoughts. I got the impression that he was definitely trying to hide something, though."

She nodded. _I thought so, too. And when he decided to go to Aro…_

"That's what he decided? I thought…I don't know what I thought."

This was worse than anything I could've come up with. Regardless of Carlisle's affiliations with him, nothing involving Aro could ever be good, especially in light of all this Prophecy malarkey.

"What's he going to Aro for?"

"No idea," she whispered, and I believed her.

"You have no idea who she is?" I asked, already knowing she didn't.

_I don't know, but she's important somehow. _

"How do you know that?"

When she shook her head, I continued. "You're not surprised that Carlisle connected her with Aro. Tell me what you've done, Alice."

She sniffed and reached into her bag, pulling out a dark folder emblazoned with the Volturi crest. Silently handing it to me, she pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"What is this?"

_Before you open it, I just want you to know that I know you'll be…upset. But, like I told you before, this is my _destiny_, Edward. No one, not even you, is going to stand in my way. You know I love you, and I know that you want what's best for me. I want the same for you, you know. _"So, please, just trust me."

Opening the folder, I started flipping through the pages of what appeared to be a contract of some sort. Apparently, I didn't understand what I was looking at because there was no way that my sister had signed this.

"Tell me you didn't, Alice. Tell me."

_They're recruiting for the inner Guard. Only a select few will be chosen, but I already know that I'll be one of them. Edward,_ she pleaded as I got up, a feral growl rumbling in my chest.

"How could you do this, Alice?" I seethed.

She jumped up, standing in front of me with a fierce expression on her face. "You are not my master, Edward!"

She was so fierce about this, so committed to the god-forsaken Cause, that I knew my anger would only cause her to do something else rash...though, really, I wasn't even sure what could be worse at that point. So I tried to calm down a bit. I needed to look at this contract, really examine it, for loop holes. There had to be a way out of it, and I would find it.

I continued to pace as I studied page after page, sick with the knowledge of how far in my sister was. The Volturi expected a lifetime of servitude. She was giving up her very _life_ for this Cause. And if she survived the war, she would still remain with the Guard until the end of time or until—I couldn't even think of my beautiful sister's demise. There had to be something I could do to stop this from happening…

Just as I turned another page, my sister gasped, the sight of a woman flashing through her mind.

_She was beautiful: long dark hair and eyes, like the woman in the drawing, but even more breathtaking—leaner, somehow, infinitely more graceful and self-assured. Her pale skin shimmered slightly in the sun as she turned toward it, closing her eyes and lifting her face to the sky. She laughed and started running, her long legs carrying her so fast…_

To use a well-known human saying, it was as if I had been knocked to my knees. My breath whooshed out; my very being focused only on Alice's thoughts. I was immobilized by the sight of this woman. Her voice, the way she looked, everything about her drew me in. I had never experienced anything like it.

I stayed that way for a few moments as I tried to get my bearings. As I came back to my surroundings, I said, "Alice, who the fuck was that?"

Her arms were wrapped tightly around her legs as she looked up at me, a shocked expression on her face. "I don't know, Edward, I swear it. I've never seen her before. At least, I don't think I have... She's one of us though."

I knew she was telling the truth. Her worried look reminded me that I had something to attend to right away, but I couldn't decide what I was going to do for sure until Alice couldn't do anything about it. "I need some time to wrap my head around this, sis," I said, gesturing to the folder.

_I know. I'll see you in a couple of days in Atlantic City, then?_

I gave her a pointed look. "And let you out of my sight again?"

"Edward," she chided. "If I promise that I won't go running off again, will you trust me? Besides, you mentioned Barneys, and that whole scene in the café reminded me that we need some new clothes."

I searched her mind and discerned she was telling the truth. "Okay."

Grinning at her, I shook my head and made a split-second decision. She scowled at me as the shimmering lights of Atlantic City were replaced with crowded streets and tropical clothing. She hated when I changed the course of her plans mid-vision.

"I say 'go big or stay home'. I'll meet you in three days in Rio."

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><p><strong>AN, encore: Rio, huh? Wonder why they're going there. Anyway, last week for the question a character feature, our fair Bella answered <strong>_**two**_** questions: ****are you a member of the Volturi? And are you on a special diet, like Carlisle?**** I think you'll like her answers—check them out on mah blog www(dot)kassiah(dot)com and ask your own question with this form: bit (dot) ly /iSquestion. I'll pick a question and post it (along with the answer) on Tuesday night. **

**Thanks for reading—see you next week, where we make it back to the prologue!**


	5. 5 Never Saw It Coming

**AN: Ah, sweet, beautiful nicnicd. She puts the vamp in vampward and busts out in Disney Princess sing-a-longs as needed. The girl is mofo brillz. So many things that I wanna do… I love you, bbcakes! Did you see the awesome blinkie that RoseArcadia made me? Dude, I totally flove her. Sweet kisses and encouraging chants to my girl, Saranic, who's welcoming a new member to her family this week. You go, girl! Another week of rl kicking my ass, and I didn't have time to send this to prereaders again. **_**ugh.**_** Sorry about that. Chrisska loved the Pictease, hope you checked ****it****him out. Thanks for reading…see you at the end.**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine. I own nothing. **

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><p><strong>il Sensale – Chapter 5: Never Saw It Coming<strong>

"Are you _sure_ I can't get you something to drink, sir?"

I bit back a flippant comment about having had a sip or two of a delectable little farm girl before the flight, and shook my head at the vapid flight attendant.

Regardless of how many times I declined her, she didn't seem to get the hint that I didn't want to be disturbed. Instead, explicit actions detailing exactly how she wanted to _serve_ me pervaded her mind, and, in turn, mine.

Beneath a veneer of artfully applied makeup, creases and lines showing her age prevailed, unattractive blotchiness gathering around the skin of her nose and cheeks. Of course, my eyes picked up on these facts—the middle aged business man in the next row, however, was grumbling to himself that she wasn't paying him quite as much attention. He thought about her more than he did the clueless wife and three children he had already at home.

Humans were so mundane.

My gift was helpful, at times—useful for hunting, tantamount in keeping Alice and me safe at times—but in day to day life, it simply magnified all the ugliness of humanity. The seven deadly sins were alive and well in the general population.

Hell, Mr. Johnson back there was a veritable example of five of the seven at this very moment. Expensive shirt stretched tightly over a paunchy midsection, a fourth vodka and tonic in front of him. His eyes watched the not-so-subtle shift of the attendants hips, dirty thoughts tinged with annoyance toward the "punk-ass kid" (And, oh, how I wanted to show him how much of a kid I _wasn't_) who probably had his plane ticket paid for by a wealthy patriarchal figure.

The airline attendant shifted her weight to the other leg, jutting her hip in my direction and flipping a sheet of unnaturally pale hair over her shoulder. For all of her artificial enhancements, the ugly truth was still clearly visible: the woman was absolutely unappealing. One would think they had better hiring procedures for the first class flight attendants, but alas.

As she stood there in front of me with a hopeful, though false, seductive expression, I considered lowering my sunglasses to allow her a glimpse of my vibrant crimson eyes. Perhaps that would give her a clue to stay away from me. Instead, I bit back a growl as I gestured to the files stacked on the table in front of me. "No, thank you. I'm on a deadline."

"Yes, sir. If there is anything I can do for you—don't forget my name is Aimee, and I'm here to serve you."

I waved my hand and turned my attention back to my papers.

She took the clue for what it was, finally, and went off in search of someone else to attempt to sink her artificial nails into.

Alone now, I ran my fingertips over the smooth Volturi crest embossed on the folder that sat on top, thinking of the wealth of information that it contained.

Benjamin, Jane, Kate, Zafrina. I knew them all.

Aro was assembling the best and most talented vampires from around the world. Every one of our kind with any hint of talent whatsoever had been recruited for the Inner Guard, a position of influence among the undead who roamed from place to place in search of their next meal. . That alone was more tempting than most vampires could resist, but throw them all together and make it seem like they were competing to see who was the best?

Something told me the results would be phenomenal.

I wondered if any of them saw it for what it truly was: an attempt to amass an army to protect Aro and his co-conspirators lives before the other side started the attack that seemed to hover threateningly in the wings. They were being herded like cattle, promises of legendary glory and the ability to contribute directly to the Cause merely empty whispers.

Aro was one of the oldest vampires still alive. He'd been changed hundreds of years before the time of tales of a carpenter who would be more. He knew our strengths and weaknesses better than anyone. He would know that assembling a group of individuals that were used to being on their own and expecting them to work together as a cohesive unit would be difficult at best—even with their beloved Cause binding them together.

So, he made it a Challenge. The premise was absolutely brilliant. We were all inherently competitive beings by nature. There was no way we could resist outdoing each other, all the while honing our skills and talents to benefit the Cause when the war was upon us.

Any who signed up for the Challenge bound themselves to serve the Volturi for life. Judging by some of the names I'd come across while looking through the files, namely Alistair, Demetri, and a vampire I'd never heard of named James, those who might change their minds would be tracked and quickly extinguished.

I thought back to my meeting with Aro, just hours before.

He had seemed utterly confident as he told me that he didn't need me, or anyone else for that matter, to win the war.

The fact that he agreed to my terms proved that he didn't truly believe that.

Practically counting the seconds that passed as I waited for him to make his decision, I don't think I've ever felt as relieved as I did when he finally accepted and said, "It seems we have an arrangement."

Nodding in acquiescence, I turned and strode from the room as quickly as possible, bypassing the group gathered for a feast and heading straight into the sultry moonlit air of the square. I scaled a wall near the edge of the town and headed straight to the airport.

Working around Alice was difficult at best, but not entirely impossible. I kept my decisions to a minimum until the very moment I walked into Aro's study, leaving her no chance to intercept me. Truthfully, I still hadn't quite made up my mind, but she would know as soon as I did. I had a few loopholes available yet.

So, in exchange for her freedom at the end of the war, I bargained my gift—in essence I would give up _myself _for this Cause of hers. I'd come close to losing her once before, and I wouldn't take any risks with her ever again.

The _Fasten Seatbelt_ light blinked as the pilot came on over the intercom, advising of impending turbulence. I did as I was told, not wanting Aimee to act on her thoughts of offering to do it for me. The intended "slip" of her hand would more than likely be my breaking point. It was laughable to think that I'd be hurt in a plane crash.

The humans really had no idea. Dangers lurked at every corner of this world, shadowed and stealthy. Some were an outright threat to them—vampires, the need for blood, how thin and easily tearable a human's skin was.

Then there were the dangers that lurked on four legs.

Covering my mouth with my hand, I had to keep myself from laughing aloud at the absurdity of the situation. Werewolves? The idea of them was ludicrous. Half monsters bounding across the earth on paws, more overgrown dogs than anything else. If Carlisle hadn't confirmed their existence himself, I would never have believed it.

Though this was a vampire war, surely there would be casualties of all kinds, including werewolves.

I thought about my most trusted friend and what he was hiding. The woman that flashed through Aro's thoughts just before they succumbed to Puccini was the same woman that Alice had drawn and shared with Carlisle, Esme, and myself. Wondering who she was and why both Aro and Carlisle would purposely try to hide her identity perplexed me.

Spending almost the entire flight searching through my memory for even a moment of her proved to be fruitless. I'd never seen her before, and I was positive my sister hadn't, either.

As I thumbed through the files, I came to the realization that I truly needed Alice.

Benjamin's talent was impressive, to be sure, but not exactly damning. There were ways around it. Kate's gift was certainly malignant, but I had the advantage of her thoughts a split second before she decided to put it to use. Zafrina was difficult, however. Her ability to steal a vampire's sight was one that bothered me. I was on an even field with her if it came to that.

I really didn't like my chances of standing against Jane, either. If her inflicted pain was as bad as the change...I shuddered to even recall how awful that was.

With all the other contenders in this so called Challenge, my sister and I would have to rely on each other to get out of this alive. Our talents worked well together, always had. As her visions were accessible to me, when she chose to share them, I could plan ahead, and she was able to determine if the plan would work or if it needed honing.

Just as the plane touched down, I could hear my sister's thoughts as though she was screaming at me.

"About time you figured out you needed me. Hurry up, I want to show you what I've seen."

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><p><strong>AN: So there-we're back at Prologue. Thanks for reading! Don't forget to send in your question for a character. Form on my blog: www(dot)kassiah(dot)com.<strong>


	6. 6 Hint to No One

**AN: nicnicd = superbeta or Wonder Woman or whoever the strongest, bestest, most beautiful superhero you can think of to insert here is. Tall buildings are no match for her. Amazing doesn't begin to cover it. **

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><p><strong>il Sensale Chapter 6 – Hint to No One<strong>

There was a reason for purchasing first class airfare that had little to do with leg room and heated towels, and more to do with being the first person off the flight. I exited the plane as soon as was possible, ignoring the disappointed thoughts of Aimee behind me. The newly retired couple in front of me, excited for the second leg of a long-saved-for trip around the world, moved with the annoying pace of their age, bones creaking audibly after the long flight.

When Aimee, sensing that all hope for "us" would be lost if she didn't do _something_ to stop me, spied a way in, I fought against my instincts to pick up the old humans (baggage and all) and set them out of my way.

"Sir! Excuse me, sir, you left these behind."

Turning just in time to allow her to collide with my chest (and thrilling as her senses finally kicked in that there was something unnatural about how hard my body was), I swallowed the lick of venom that coated my teeth in saccharine sweetness.

I'd fed before my trip, of course, so there was no reason for my thirst, but, alas...there it was. Perhaps it was because I'd been in such close proximity to humans for such an extended period of time; possibly my animal nature was on high alert after the stresses of the past few days and I simply needed to feed; probably, though, I was just bored.

Whatever the reason, I had to use all of my restraint to keep from draining the vapid flight attendant right there in the concourse, witnesses be damned.

Oh, and they'd surely be damned. Alice, tiny and deceptively non-threatening in anyone else's eyes, waited in the baggage area. Surely picking up on my rapid-fire scenarios of feeding or walking away...killing or slinking off...mauling or disappearing into the throngs of travelers, she'd be beside me in two seconds if need be, taking out the spares because she already had a plan that was sure to work.

_No! You'll have plenty of time to feed later, Edward. Come on! We've got things to set in place before we leave._ Her warning reached me and I sighed, feeling every bit the sulky teenager I'd been frozen as for eternity.

I smirked at that. Teenagers generally weren't so evil...well, not in the true sense of the word.

_Oh, sweet Jesus, move, get away, run now now now. Not right, not normal. Move your goddamn feet, Aimee. _

Delighting in the flight attendant's screaming mental thoughts when she caught a glimpse of my eyes, I grabbed the sunglasses that I'd mistakenly left on the plane from her limp, quavering hand. It really was too bad that Alice seemed to be in such a hurry—dear Aimee's fear only increased the flow of blood pumping from her heart. It made her scent stronger; beat against my senses like a tribal drum calling me nearer. I could practically taste her already, all hot and thick and wet-warm life.

I wasn't completely selfish—my sister would have enjoyed the girl, too.

They always taste better when they get worked up first, anyway.

There was something lacking in Alice's thoughts, though. Something that made me yearn to rub my hands together in wicked mirth. With her wholehearted belief in the Cause, I knew she would freely give herself to protecting the Cause for the rest of eternity, had plans to do so even now. And yet she had no clue of the terms of my arrangement with Aro. I'd eluded her successfully—she was far too excited at the prospect of me joining her in the Challenge, with no sign of censure in her mind.

Shooting my terrified friend a toothy grin, I slid my sunglasses over my eyes, turned, and made my way toward the baggage claim area, the beast contained for the time being. My sister, all moonshine sparkle and curving lips, threw her arms around me for a moment before leading us outside to the waiting car.

"Thank you, Edward. You don't know how much it means to me that you've decided to come with me," she said, grinning.

"Like there was ever any other choice, Alice," I returned. I swore the girl was going to be the one to bring my long existence to a fiery end. As aggravated as I was with her at the moment, I hugged her back, mussing her razor edged hair before setting her away from me.

She had things to do, yes, but so did I. For the first time in what felt like forever, time was of the essence. She gasped as I pulled out my phone and the image of a long-time friend of ours flashed before both of our eyes.

_Why are you calling him?_

"You already know," I replied.

I settled back into my seat, nodding at the driver and tapping my fingers impatiently in a practiced show as I waited for the other end to pick up. Humans were always in a hurry, constantly on the go, their set amount of time wasting away. I'd perfected their mannerisms early on: tapping feet and jittery hands, shifts and pivots of stationary legs in a line, the ruffling of hair when frustrated.

"Sup, man?" his jovial voice carried over the phone.

"Can you get to Rio in the next twenty-four hours?"

"Rio? I'm so there. Dude, I'm always telling you to lighten the fuck up. Glad to see you're finally taking my advice."

I hummed my acknowledgement and ended the call. Groaning, I tilted my head back against the headrest. Sometimes I really wished I could just take a fucking nap.

A few short minutes passed, and we arrived at our hotel. I wasn't surprised that Alice booked us into the penthouse suite of the best hotel in Rio de Janeiro. I rolled my eyes at her as the concierge went over the details of her spa services for the next day.

Honestly.

"Really? The spa, Alice?"

"It's as if you don't know me at all, Edward," she responded, laughing. "Of course I'm going to the spa. I _need _it."

Alice was a creature who liked her comforts. I shook my head at her, wondering what amusing tales she'd concocted for the inevitable moment a manicurist would wonder why her fingers were so cold.

"How are you going to make it in the wild for however long this takes, Alice?"

"You ready to talk about it, then?"

"Are you?"

"Nope. Wait 'til he gets here. We'll go over the game plan together. We both need time to think, and I want to take a look at those files."

"Why? Itching for an advance peek at whoever your 'destiny' is?"

"We both know this is bigger than me finding a mate. You must be aware, brother dear, that it's your destiny, too."

That shut me up.

It wasn't destiny—it was a life sentence for me. And her, if I failed to get her out of it.

No, I wouldn't think of that. There was no way I was going to lose.

The next day, while Alice enjoyed her spa day, I headed back to the airport. It was unfortunately a sunny day, so I kept to the shadows and abstained from the ease of hiring a driver. Alice had warned me to move swiftly, and which areas of the airport I could sneak in without a human witnessing the unfortunate effect of my skin in the sun.

He was already there, of course. His booming laughter rang out, easily filling the space. I smiled—some things never changed.

He saw me as I approached the baggage claim area, grinning at me over the head of the girl he was flirting with.

Bending low, he whispered something to her that made me shake my head, and made her take a step closer. And then he was on his way in my direction, ignoring my outstretched hand and clapping me hard enough on the back to leave indents of my shoes on the tiled floor.

"Good to see you man."

"You too, Em."

**X-X-X-X-X**

"So, you two wanna tell me what this is all about?" he asked, his face relaxed, intrigued and jovial as only he could pull off.

His accent was barely discernable, present only because he slipped into fractured grammar at times. I admired his resistance to change, the way he held onto some small part of his essential upbringing.

An uncomfortable silence stretched across the room before Alice quietly said the thing she had been shouting in her mind moments before. "You didn't tell him anything?"

I shook my head, and then began. "You know there have been rumors that the Prophecy is true."

Emmett's smile faltered slightly before he said, "I'd say it's more than rumors, dude. They're gearing up for a war—_the_ war."

"How'd you know that?" Alice asked.

"I was down South and ran into Pete," he said simply, shrugging. "He's joinin' up."

"So did we," I stated.

"No shit?" he asked, incredulous. "Thought you didn't believe in that nonsense, man."

"It doesn't really matter what I believe, does it? We're here, and we're going."

He stared at me, flexing his fingers around the glass of beer he pretended to drink as we relaxed in a café later that night. The sounds and smells of Rio beat at my senses, the steady thumps of hearts, the laughter of children playing in crowded apartments loud above our heads. Emmett studied me, taking note of the stiff set of my shoulders, the slight downturn of my lips.

"Pix?" He turned to Alice. "This was all you, huh?"

She nodded slowly, but her voice came out strong and full of conviction. "Edward doesn't understand that some things can't be stopped. I didn't want to drag him into this, and I'm certainly not asking you to come in here and save me, Em."

He raised his hands. "Been there, done that." He grinned at her before turning to me, a solemn expression on his usually cheery face. "Give it to me, then."

Eying Alice for a moment, I leaned forward and decided that I needed to lay it all out, for the both of them. I couldn't tell Emmett everything—he was still subject to Aro's touch, of course, but I trusted him with my life.

"We recently received confirmation that the Prophecy may be real. Aspects of it, at least. The Volturi are recruiting the best of the best in an effort to gain an upper hand in the war that looms over us all. In a week, there will be a Challenge, allowing everyone who was recruited to prove that they are worthy to serve. Aro's building an army, Em. Alice…" I paused, glaring at her, "thinks it's her destiny to give her life for this Cause. So she joined the Challenge."

He whistled loudly and leaned back. "And you're following her. Must be some serious shit for you to ask me to get involved."

Nodding, I dug in my messenger bag. I removed some of the files and laid them on the table in front of him. "He's found talents I've never seen before. Not to mention the old crowd will be there: Alec, Jane, fucking Demetri…"

He looked up at me, an awestruck look in his eyes that matched his thoughts. "You're scared?"

I shook my head. "I'm smart. You know how it is on a normal day, without this going on—I don't even want to think about what it'll be like when we're competing against each other."

Alice was smug in her thoughts, thinking I worried for nothing. To her, this was all necessary. We'd prove ourselves, win the war, and exist as victors, the spoils of war spread before us daily...hourly if we so wanted it. Most of all, she was positively giddy at the thought of the happiness that awaited her.

Females were such erratic creatures. I sighed.

Emmett leaned back in his chair and smirked. The opportunity of a challenge, of beating anyone and everyone who came against him, was intriguing to him. "I'm in. You know I got your back, no matter what."

"Thanks, man. I wouldn't ask if—"

"How long's this going to last, anyway?" he interrupted, flipping through the files.

"It's for life."

"No idea."

Alice and I answered at the same time.

"Life?" he said, his eyebrows going high, replacing the smirk.

"There's more," I said, looking at my sister. It was now or never... "After Alice signed up, I went to Aro and bargained for her release when the war is through."

"What?" she seethed. "You do not make my decisions for me, Edward!"

The look on my face stopped her. "I know that, Alice. But when this war is over, why would you need to continue on with them? If you believe in your Prophecy like you say you do, then you know this is 'the war to end all wars'. There's no need for you to stay with them!"

"You believe it then?" she whispered.

"I believe in you."

I knew it wasn't over, that we would argue later about the arrangement that I'd made. But we both knew that it wasn't the time for that. It didn't stop her from unabashedly voicing her thoughts in her own mind.

_Pigheaded asshole. You just wait. You'll see. _

"Now that we've got _that _out of the way," Emmett said, as he pulled us both in for a hug, "let's jet. I'm fucking _starving_."

**X-X-X-X-X**

A week later, plans in place to meet up with our third "unexpectedly", Alice and I were sitting on a boat crossing over the choppy waters of the Atlantic, headed toward a small island off the coast of Brazil. I remembered that Carlisle had bought an island for Esme that wasn't too far away from where we were headed. I turned my head in its direction and wondered where they were.

The island we landed on was spacious, private and sheltered from the prying eyes of overhead planes by mountains and lush jungle foliage. The hidden castle in the middle of the island was impressive even to me, though I tried not to show it as we were led through the doors and into a well appointed foyer. Gianna, Aro's human lackey, led us to our rooms, describing the notable aspects, including the soundproof walls and the state-of-the-art entertainment systems in all rooms.

"Why would we need that?" I asked.

Gianna smiled at me and said, "Of course Aro, Marcus, and Caius want you to have every perk available to you during your stay here."

Fucking Aro and his cronies—always having to show off. "Every perk?" I laughed. "I wonder if they'll have room service."

"All will be explained in time, Edward."

We dropped off Alice's bags in her room before heading to mine, which was adjacent. Alice, once again translating her book, said she wanted to check on something and scampered out of the room. I left her to it—we were among the first here, and I was still feeling a stab of remorse from the argument we'd had a few days before over my plans. If she needed time to herself, I'd give it to her.

Before turning to leave, Gianna quietly addressed me. "Aro said there are a few last minute additions that you will want to acquaint yourself with. He said you were aware of one already, Emmett. The other two will be arriving late tomorrow, before the first challenge is issued."

Two last minute additions I wasn't aware of didn't sit well with me, but I nodded and thanked her, thinking of my sister. She was worth the trouble.

I was sitting on the black leather couch in my room when Alice came in, pulling Esme behind her. I stood, shocked.

"Edward!" she said, pulling me in for a hug. _He's so worried about you._

I looked at her questioningly for a moment before Carlisle walked through the door, closing it behind him.

_Do you believe these rooms are secure? _

Taken aback at his presence, at their presence, it took me a minute to realize what he was talking about.

"I wonder why Gianna made a point to tell us the rooms were soundproof?" I mused.

Alice rolled her eyes, answering. "Oh, that's obvious. She was trying to point out all of the lovely _perks _here. Can you imagine what it'd be like, a castle full of vampires with supersonic hearing day after day? We'd go mad."

"Maybe we're already there," I muttered before turning to Carlisle. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you say anything before?"

He smiled at me and reached for Esme's hand. "We're here in an advisory capacity. Who better to understand the other side than someone who follows one of their most important practices? Plus, someone had to look out for you two."

"We don't need—"

_Later._

Alice smiled brightly at all of us before grabbing Esme's hand and squeezing. "We'll catch up tonight, after the opening ceremony."

Carlisle's eyes flashed to mine in warning as he led Esme toward the door. I read his worried thoughts, and acted as if I had no reaction to them.

He smiled at Alice next. "Of course, dear. We can't wait to catch up with you."

**X-X-X-X-X**

I looked at the flaming torches that lit the path that we were to take. The light they provided was completely unnecessary, but the warning rang out as if signs had been plastered along the way: we can end you.

There were very few things that could get a vampire to stop dead in his or her tracks. Fire was one of them.

Alice gripped my hand quickly as she scanned the crowd. She had seen the files and, except for the few stragglers that were arriving late, knew everyone that would participate in the Challenge. She couldn't hide the disappointment that no one "jumped out at her," and to be honest, neither could I. If her "destiny" wasn't here, all of this would be in vain.

I could lose my sister over a pipe dream.

The greetings and pleasantries that were being exchanged were quickly hushed as Aro and his crew made their way through the crowd, seemingly gliding. His eyes scanned the crowd and a maniacal smile crept across his face as he stepped up on a raised platform in the center of the clearing.

His gaze landed on me and he clapped his hands once, garnering everyone's attention immediately.

"Greetings, dear ones. I hope that you are enjoying yourselves here." He waited a moment to hear everyone's praises at the opulence they found since arriving.

"You all know why you are here—to ensure our way of life remains!" The crowd cheered. "To claim victory over our would-be oppressors!" More cheering. "To protect _la Causa_ with your very lives."

I glanced around at the crowd, picking out strains of thought that I might need later. Their reactions were as expected, fervent and believing, though some were not as emphatic as the others. I made note of these.

"Tomorrow, we get to work, but tonight, my dears, you'll find that the island is well-stocked with a selection to suit everyone's tastes," he said excitedly as his eyes flicked over to Carlisle. "Including those with a less-discerning palate." He smiled widely and scanned the crowd that stood before him.

"Tonight, we feast!"

And that's when I heard them. In the excitement surrounding everything else, I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed before. Heartbeats. Hundreds of them. My throat burned with thirst as the wind picked up their scents and carried them along the breeze. Far off in the distance, I heard the screaming as they ran.

Perfect. They tasted better when they got worked up.

**AN at the bottom: I'm fail and didn't post an answer to the questions for the characters this week, so next week you get two (probably). This song for this chapter is Well Enough Alone by Chevelle. I'll post the lyrics and video, along with a bunch of other stuff on my blog www (dot) kassiah (dot) com. I'll also try to get my shit together enough to send a teaser to Teaser Monday on the Fictionators, too. Much love to nicnicd, again, for …everything. And to you, for reading. Thanks. xoxox**


	7. 7 Storm Bubbling Up from the Sea

**AN: This would have seriously sucked without nicnicd's sparkly red pen. She's famazing. Thank rob she loves me. Thanks giselle-lx for the FFn workaround. You're both really pretty.**

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><p><strong>il Sensale Chapter 7: Storm Bubbling Up from the Sea<strong>

"Why kill them, though?"

It was a barely whispered exhalation, as quiet as the whisper of skin on skin, but he stiffened, casting his eyes to the cover of palm trees and jungle ferns behind us.

Beyond us, the sounds of a dangerous game of cat and mouse fought for dominance against the hum of jungle life. They were too lost in the thrill of the hunt to pay our words any mind, but Aro worked at keeping his words ambivalent just in case of prying ears. If the screams of terror echoing back to us were any indication, the contestants were enjoying the feast, and decidedly not worrying about us.

My senses thrilled to those sounds: the uneven footfalls as a human tried to outrun a predator faster than they were, the lush sound of skin being torn. Venom surged in my very veins, prodding me to crouch, to run, to pounce and tear and feed until I was punchdrunk on the hot, salty and thick blood being offered like wine at a party.

Soon, I told myself. Soon I could join the others, join Alice and Emmett, but not before laying the ground work I needed to.

Among the many qualms I still had about entering into the bargain, one stood out above the rest. I had an inkling of course, and it was something I kept in the back of my mind, hidden from even Alice. It was so explosive I dared not even think on it lest I rouse her suspicions.

For that matter, I certainly didn't want any extra focus from Aro, either. If he suspected I was thinking such things...

_You question my motives?_ His mental tone carried a venomous cadence, warning me that I was dangerously close to crossing a line that would put both mine and Alice's existence at risk. I scaled back my disbelief some, feigning a merely curious expression.

"With all due respect, Aro, I'm not 'questioning' you. I'm just trying to understand your motivation for exterminating _anyone_ who doesn't complete a part of the challenge. You've assembled the most talented and ambitious group that our kind has ever seen. Why would you want to lose any of them?"

Settling back into his throne on the dais, he crossed one leg over the other, looking for all intents a bored businessman on vacation—he was nothing of the sort, though. His mind raced from idea to idea, all commonplace and mundane: a set of jewels he'd acquired; an investment that stood on shaky grounds due to the current economic crisis in the States; the investment banker he would drain because of it; that damnable aria he was so fond of.

Any other vampire would assume he was simply pondering their question, searching for the best way to explain the reasoning behind his beliefs.

I knew better. He was hiding something.

Finally he moved from his stiff position, milky red eyes settling on a point behind me. They flashed with an expression of brief annoyance before he started to explain.

"We are at the cusp of _the_ defining moment of our history, Edward. So much is at stake—for all of us. It is not just about protection for myself, nor even personal victory. Our very way of life is in peril. If we don't defend the Cause with everything we have, all will be lost."

He made a move as if he would take my hand, and then pulled back completely_. _Instead he stood from the raised platform and moved to circle around me, much like he had at our meeting some two weeks before.

_I have not forgotten our arrangement, young Edward._

Inwardly I bristled at the knock on my age. Compared to his long, long life I was young, but his condescending meaning was clear: I knew little compared to him.

"While invaluable, the talent that each participant, who by the way has willingly joined our little band of merrymakers, is not the most important trait that he or she possesses." He paused, tilting his head to the side and looking at me.

I returned his stare with equal vigor, simultaneously listening as his thoughts continued to cycle through, individuals and scenarios bursting forward like tiny sparks, and trying to stay one step ahead of him.

If this was to work, he would need to think that I was at least devoted to the Cause. It was a fairly easy conclusion to make—I valued my way of life very much. Gleaning a clearer path than any other I'd been presented during our most recent conversation, I latched onto the word most prevalent in his thoughts.

"Lealtà?"

"Yes. Loyalty is the most important quality that each assembled here bears. That, along with the willingness to sacrifice one's own self to protect the Cause, will be the sole reason we are victorious against our would-be oppressors."

"And if their loyalty is in question…"

"Elimination. Remember the lovely Irina? Such a pity how her life was forfeit due to her betrayal."

I recalled the news of Irina, a decadent vampire who'd been the first so-called casualty of the war. While possessing no real talent other than beauty, she'd been a valued member of the Guard nonetheless. The humans, both men and women, were drawn in by her stunning features, the crystalline voice and perfect face. She was one of the Volturi's herders, pulling tourists from the outlying regions of Italy to Volterra with the ploy of lavish tours. The tour ended in their deaths, of course.

She'd dared question Aro publicly about the Prophecy, and had made inquiries into the other side's acceptance of help. I hadn't witnessed the slaying of her, but the thoughts of the awful tumult, which ended with her in flames from Caius' metallic torch device, had permeated the minds of the castle's inhabitants for weeks to come.

Witnessing human death was simply a way of life for vampires, but to see one of our own cut down was something that stayed with our kind.

It was the very thing I was fighting to prevent. The thought of losing Alice forever pained me, even more so than I realized I was capable of.

I was a solitary being, for the most part. Alice was my only true companion, the only other creature I confided in. We'd been together as a family for centuries, traveling from locale to locale and watching each other's backs. I wouldn't...couldn't, lose her.

"I would so hate to give up on this," I said, forcing a grin as I waved a hand at the foliage beyond. "The scent of fear, it's divine, isn't it? They're so utterly terrified... I am loyal, Aro. Have no doubt about that."

Loyal to him, however? Well...

He clapped his hands. "Of course, that won't be a problem for us, Edward. You worry too much! I see it on your face, dear boy. Let us stop with the memories of treacherous snakes and look forward to the rest of our Opening Ceremony later this evening. There is a game being played out there now, one I don't want you to miss out on. I am quite interested in hearing your take on tonight's events in the near future."

"Yes. It will be something to witness, I'm quite sure. I will come to you this evening with my full report," I said, bowing slightly to show that I still fully intended to uphold my part of the arrangement.

Aro chuckled. "Oh, Edward, it's nothing that can't wait until tomorrow. I daresay that you'll be rather _busy_ later tonight."

**X-X-X-X-X**

I felt full, glutted even, as I made my way back to the clearing. There was a sense of limberness to my muscles, as if I'd released some pent up energy. I was indeed punchdrunk, blissful to an overwhelming degree. The two blondes I'd had were sinfully good, all soft and warm as they lay under me, and as sweet as plums I remembered picking as a youth.

The participants, laid back and yet excited at the same time, made their way back to camp ahead and behind me in groups of two and three, regaling each other with play-by-plays of their most stupendous kills. Emmett carried Alice on his back, laughter scaring the macaws clustered in trees above into flight. The excitement of the group was palpable.

Some voiced their appreciation as we came out of the forest onto the sandy beach on the opposite side of the island. Most were nomads like Alice and I, used to covert feeding by cover of night. The earlier chase had amped them to a boisterous, carefree level. The calming waves breaking against the shore gave a false sense of tranquility.

I hung back from the group and focused on the task at hand. I opened my mind, casting out to touch on the thoughts of each vampire in turn, and looked for any information that would be useful. Fears, doubts, perhaps someone who had a hand in both sides of the aisle, so to speak... I catalogued them all.

Alice laughed and dropped from Emmett's back, pausing to grab my hand.

"That was fun," she said. "I haven't acted like that since I was a newborn." Her body swayed to a faint tribal beat that could be heard from somewhere in the distance.

I nodded my agreement.

Aro, Marcus, and Caius, along with a few of their inner guard that had been with them probably for centuries, stood waiting for us on the dais as we reached the beach. Their minds were surprisingly silent, a fact that drew my attention immediately. Wondering who, or what, could be blocking their thoughts from me, I glanced behind Aro... and froze.

Renata, Aro's personal shield.

Though she was one of the weaker vampires I'd ever encountered, hardly effective as a physical shield, she had a powerful gift that allowed her to block any mental talents, myself included, as long as she had a hand on her master.

_Amazing castle._

_Does everyone here possess a talent?_

_Who is _that_?_

_What's _he_ doing here?_

_Fuuuuck._

My survey of the challengers thoughts was cut short when Aro cleared his throat, signaling that the remainder of the ceremony was about to begin.

"Greetings, friends! Welcome to the first official night of the Challenge!" He clapped his hands together, a maniacal grin transforming his features into something truly macabre. "I am delighted to find you all assembled here, happy and sated, I'm sure. You are all brilliant, with perfect bodies and minds that do not forget, truly stars among us. We'll begin shortly, but, please, allow me a few moments more while we await our late arrivals. They should be joining us ever so shortly."

I squeezed Alice's hand, deciding to move amongst the crowd so I could focus. Her eyes went vacant for a brief second, and then she nodded. I set out then, weaving my way through the crowd and taking in everything possible.

"You all know why we are here. Our enemies are amassing power, gearing up to thwart us. The Romanians want to annihilate each and every one of us! They would take away that very thing which supplies us life! They will not stop until we are all just like them—or dead."

There was a rumble throughout the crowd. Some hissed their protests, others spat venom onto the sand, but one thing was clear—every vampire in this crowd was ready to do anything to protect the Volturi way of life. A handy bit of knowledge, that. Something Aro would be sure to ask me.

At the obvious approval of his words, Aro continued his oration. "I am proud to have you serve alongside your brethren to protect the Cause. By now you know that the Prophecy has proven to be real, though there certainly was never any doubt."

Loud calls came from everyone. _How do we know? Where is our proof?_

The gathered crowd was like any group of protesters I'd witnessed over my travels, whipped into frenzy by words that backed up their own ideals. They were a captive audience, holding onto each word and applying them to their own experiences, their own love of the freedom and way of life they held so dear.

Mostly, though, they were excited to be amongst others of their kind. Used to roaming in groups of two or possibly three—well, those that weren't solitary by choice—the opportunity to play games of strength and wit thrilled them, brought out their prideful nature. The thoughts of using their talents in a challenge surrounded me on all sides, boastful and loud.

Inwardly, I scoffed at this. It seemed rather silly to me, but then again I'd always been relatively happy to just have Alice for company, Carlisle and Esme and a few others my sporadic acquaintances. I didn't need a mate, not in the way Alice longed for one.

And that's when I heard them.

Aro, positively gleeful now, smiled out at the crowd before turning toward Caius with a guarded expression. Caius nodded and left the platform with little haste, his own personal guard flowing him in tight quarters. Separated from Renata as he was, I caught a brief glimpse of his fear before he disappeared into the trees and picked up speed.

Turning on my heel when the reason for his fear, as well as the voices, solidified in my mind, I hurried back to Alice and Emmett.

As soon as Caius was out of sight, Aro called out, "You have every right to know the truth, my beloveds." His voice rose. "Join us, new friends!"

Everyone around me gasped when the new arrivals stepped out from the jungle. Angry now, as well as fiercely protective of my sister at my side, I took in the rough fur and enormous size of the pack of wolves. The brown one from Alice's vision of Carlisle was there, hackles slightly raised and teeth bared in a menacing growl. Resting my hand on her shoulder, I felt her relax.

_I'm glad you're back. I know they won't hurt me, but…_

I smiled and lifted my gaze to hers, letting her know that I would always be there to protect her.

"Just as the Prophecy foretold, we have formed alliances with beings we never thought to be real, let alone that we would someday call 'friends'. The pack will be joining us in our effort to protect la Causa!"

The participants, on guard at the sight of the wolves, loosened from their defensive postures with the news that the wolves were on their side. They roared with exuberant delight, thoughts as chaotic and jumbled as a classroom of five year olds. One by one the wolves shifted, transforming to men before our very eyes. When the last one changed, I scoffed.

Honestly. Could they not invest in clothes?

My sister's hand slipped into mine once more, almost a reminder that she was still there beside me and I would never truly be alone. I looked down at her and took in the dreamy expression, the way she saw things not yet to happen, but ones she yearned for. Her brow was furrowed as flashes of fights involving the wolves, swimming underneath sparkling waterfalls, and a man that I'd never seen before strumming a guitar cycled through her thoughts.

As Aro raised his arms, a choking silence fell over the crowd. They hung on his every word.

Sickening.

"And now for a brief reminder of what the Challenge will entail. Each event has been designed to test your loyalty as well as your skills and strength. Though they will be both mentally and physically exhausting, they are tailored to allow you to contribute your strengths to the Cause while eliminating that which makes you weak. Of course, you are not only required to participate in each, but you should genuinely desire to do so."

The crowd murmured at this. I caught a thought from Zafrina, strategies really, as she sorted through her best illusions.

"Dear ones, I do not have to remind you that you have willingly assembled here. Your own life is forfeit in order to protect the Cause." He scanned the crowd until his eyes fell on me. "Of course, the penalty for treason is death. Believe me, I do not want to waste your precious talents, so let us not come to that!"

If I expected shock or dismay at the mention of death, I was proved wrong. So assured of their own strengths, the vampires in the crowd merely imagined the warning for the being beside them, and not themselves.

"On the days when no challenges are scheduled, you are free to do whatever you wish, aside from leaving the island. Your quarters are considered to be your home and will only be intruded upon if we see an absolute necessity. Use the time to train and strategize what you will do when you meet the Transylvanians on the battlefield!"

Another loud roar from the crowd.

Aro's gaze went out the water. "Our late comers should be nearly here. I see no reason to keep you waiting any longer. It is time to begin."

I drew Alice into my side protectively, shooting Emmett a glance over her head that warned him to be aware.

"We are by nature sensual beings. Another perceived myth that has proven to be authentic is that you are stronger when complete with your true mate. We have carefully studied each of you before inviting you here." He paused dramatically and gestured toward the small group that included Carlisle and Esme. "I've assembled advisors to assist in any capacity necessary. We know what is best and only have protecting la Causa at heart—never forget that.

"I daresay that the first part of the Challenge for you shall be one that you enjoy very much. We want you to remember what you are fighting for at all times. You are fighting for each one of us, for all of our kind, and for your very own mate."

Most of the assembled group had confused, jumbled thoughts. Some questioned the validity of soul mates, while others moved toward each other, having already found another to their liking the night before.

"We have searched the world for your true matches, beloveds, and assembled them here. By giving yourself physically and spiritually to your mates just as you have to us, you will be complete in a way you have never experienced. That makes you stronger—that makes you a better fighter and better equipped to protect the Cause."

"Over the next week and throughout the Challenge, get to know your mate. Your first challenge is simply to become one, mind, soul, and _body_."

And there it was—the part of the games that I couldn't even begin to fathom.

Before Alice's vision, I definitely didn't believe in all this "soul mate" business, however, after seeing the girl in my sister's thoughts, and experiencing the way my mind and body reacted to her, I didn't know if I could deny it any longer. I certainly thought that my match wouldn't be someone _picked_ for me. There had to be more to it than I originally thought.

I waited for the logic that seemed so apparent to me to settle in, for someone to voice their worries...but nothing happened.

No questions, no objections. The others scanned the crowd eagerly, some hoping to be placed with another because they found them attractive, others greedy as they recalled talents that would make their own stronger.

As Aro started calling out the matches, couples walked toward each other, clasped hands and looked at each other as if they were in a trance. Some of the matches surprised me, vampires with humans, males with other males, women with other women.

Some of them didn't surprise me at all.

I rolled my eyes as Victoria and Alistair's names were called…that was a match made in heaven. Both were sneaky sorts, and could get out of almost anything. Zafrina and Benjamin…_fuck_ they would be hard to beat if it came down to it. Katrina and Peter…lucky guy, I guess.

Though I didn't need to, I held my breath and cringed when I heard my sister's name.

Aro looked right at me as he called out her match. "Demetri."

_Shit._

Alice beamed at me before releasing my hand and bouncing over to him. As he wrapped his arms around her, I had to look away. Demetri was the best tracker in the world. It would be downright difficult now if we had to try to get away without Aro's approval.

There were only a few of us that were left unmatched, including Jane and Alec. Aro was insane if he thought either one of them could be my mate.

The idea that Aro wasn't planning to match me with anyone crossed my mind, which would make the most sense since my match clearly wasn't here. Since it was imperative that I didn't stand out in any way amongst the contenders, I wondered how he was going to play that off.

Almost as soon as the thought entered my head, I heard him call my name. "Edward, your mate is… Your mate is Mag…" He trailed off as loud laughter coming from the shore interrupted him. He clapped his hands together, a look of pure delight on his face. "Jane! Dear one, come and meet your mate."

He put his hand on Jane's shoulder and pointed her toward a tall, lanky vampire who walked up from the beach. He bowed slightly to Aro before grabbing Jane's hand, wrapping his arms around her and twirling her around.

Before I could catch sight of his travelling companion, I felt a tiny hand in mine. I looked down to see a beautiful girl with black curly hair and wide, crimson eyes. She placed her hand on my heart and whispered, "I'm Maggie. I'm your mate."

_Edward!_ I heard her before I felt her. My sister had run into me at full speed, knocking me to the ground. "We have to go into the castle right now." _We'll figure it all out later, brother, please._ "Please come on."

Demetri was holding her around the waist, chuckling as he bent down to kiss the back of her neck.

I didn't know what was wrong with her as she kept trying to pull me toward the castle. It wasn't until I heard _her_ and looked back toward the shore that I understood.

"And Alec, my precious, our latest arrival, Bella, is for you."

Shaking my head, I tried to bring myself out of the stupor I seemed to be in, before I looked back at _her_. At the rivulets of water that flowed down from her long dark hair. At the way the sun glistened on her smooth alabaster skin. At the beautiful face that I recognized from my sister's vision.

_Bella._

All I knew in that moment, as my supposed _mate_ tugged at my hand in an effort to get me to turn around and head toward the castle, was that I wanted the girl that was standing on the beach more than I'd ever wanted anything else.

She was perfect, truly. Wide, expressive eyes set under shaped brows; a beguiling smile that lent an air of mischievousness to her features; toned, shapely legs.

Something had gone _terribly_ wrong—there was no other explanation for the fact that my body was being moved away from hers as she took his hand and was led in the opposite direction.

Forget facing Benjamin and Zafrina together—we were totally fucked now.

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><p><strong>AN: Oh hale naw! Can you believe that just happened? Thanks for reading, ya'll.<strong>


	8. 8 Seldom Do These Words Ring True

**AN: I apologize profusely for the delay. RL is kicking my ass, every day. I promise that this isn't a new pattern I'm trying to establish. The title of this chapter comes from a line in "Savior" by Rise Against.**

**nicnicd makes this readable. And somewhat sensical. I love her. **

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><p><strong>il Sensale Chapter Eight – Seldom Do These Words Ring True<strong>

_We'll figure it all out later, brother, please._

Every single one of my instincts was telling me to fly across the beach to get back to that girl, Demetri and James and their tracking abilities be damned. It was only my sister's frantic pleas that kept me grounded; I allowed Maggie, my supposed mate, to continue to pull me toward the castle as Alice begged and threatened in loud shouts in my head to ride it out.

She owed me an explanation in the worst way. Literally every fiber of my body _ached_ at the prospect of being separated from the late arrival still standing in the sand.

Bella.

It was a tugging sensation, strange and compelling all at once, and it felt like my steps were dragging as we moved farther and farther away from the beach. I don't know how I was able to step away from her and make my way into the castle.

Obviously there was something off in Aro's pairings, because wasn't I proof of it? What I couldn't understand was the way the couples around me were walking by with demented, love-struck faces. Some paused in the hallway, pawing at each other; others raced up the stairs, the sound of slamming doors ringing in the cavernous walls. The lush rip of fabric splitting apart and guttural growling filled the space around me.

Their minds seemed to be singularly focused on sex. It was fucking _weird_. There was simply no other word for it.

I was used to everyone around me thinking about sex in varying degrees—from innocent touches to play by play mental reenactments—but I had never witnessed such debauchery before.

As Maggie led me down the hall, I tried to clear my mind of the bombardment of amorous thoughts and feelings, and tried to focus on what was really going on. There was something I wasn't seeing here, something that bound these couples to each other in a sense of togetherness. I concentrated on Maggie, trying to discern a common thread between her thoughts and those of the other vampires.

Her mind was racing, a mixed up, jumbled mess that included flashes of Aro's face and long stretches of red. Her thoughts spun to the speech the night before, how something hadn't sat right with her, either, to me and the way my skin felt against hers—smooth and perfectly matched in temperature. She was at once amazed and unsure if she could believe the connection she felt to me was real.

And she _did_ feel it. It was sensationally clear in her mind how much she liked the way I looked, how my scent attracted her in the most primal of ways. Her thoughts were that of everyone else, magnified and pulsing out to touch mine.

In a strange way, I felt them, too. I was resisting as best I could, but the things she felt _were _there for me as well. If not for Alice's continued pushes toward my extra sense warning me to calm down for a minute, I would have probably went for it.

Acting on the more pleasant yearning to just go with it, Maggie turned and smiled at me, shifting on to her tiptoes to kiss me. Her skin was warm, in a way, her mouth sweet and artful. For a second I forgot about everything else and ran my hand along her back and into her hair, pulling her closer and groaning into her mouth.

And so I went for it, yanking her to me and riding the wave of blissful emotions that had me scrabbling to be closer. Her body wasn't as giving as my usual prey, but she was soft where it counted, and her thoughts were so perfectly focused on the way I felt to her, too. It was heady, the way she wanted me.

That's when I snapped.

Growling, I pulled her to me and spun us around so she was pressed into the wall. My hand found purchase on the cool stone beside her head, and I thrust myself against her.

Another flash of Aro's face, a barely noticeable pause, and then red faded to white as a devious smirk crossed her features. As her fingertips brushed the buttons of my pants, her thoughts turned salacious.

_This sure as hell feels real._

She started to unbutton my jeans, and I took a moment to tune into what was happening around the castle. I hadn't forgotten my true purpose in being here—the need to protect Alice was so deeply ingrained that it was an automatic response.

The walls of the castle had been soundproofed, but trivial things like walls didn't usually keep me out. But there was nothing—no thoughts other than those of surrendering to passion were present. Maggie noticed my pause.

"Come on, you can't tell me you're shy." She looked up at me with wide, guileless eyes before trailing her hand down my chest and watching my muscles as they flexed beneath her fingertips.

I grabbed her roughly then, pulling her close again and kissing down her neck. Her thoughts were focused on one phrase, repeated over and over in her mind.

_Right there. Oh, god, right there. This _has _to be real… _

It was a simple thought, really. Nothing more than I'd heard countless times before in my extensive travels, but something about it triggered a different response in me.

This was wrong. I should be turned on. I should want this girl. I was trying to flip a switch, to make myself give into the way I should be reacting to her, to no avail. All I could feel was…nothing. I was beginning to feel emptier with every trace of her fingertips on my skin.

Even with Maggie pressed against the wall, panting and whimpering and pulling me closer and closer to her, my soul was screaming to be reunited with the girl on the beach, with Bella. I knew I should forget my reaction to her; it would be the safest decision I'd ever made, and should therefore be the easiest, but I just couldn't. What was the matter with me? I'd never felt so torn, so utterly on the edge. As Maggie started to unbutton my shirt, I felt like I should _want to _give in. A section of my brain yelled at me to take what we both wanted on a physical level. She was an attractive female, and she wanted me.

This was my _mate_.

So why couldn't I just…_take her_?

I was here for a very simple reason, and that was to make sure Alice got out of the Challenge safely. I'd agreed to help Aro and not to reject his plans—and this mate business was very obviously something he wanted to see happen. Eschewing Maggie for another was out of the question. We had to complete the task, so to speak, or we'd both be killed. And Alice...Alice wouldn't have my protection then. I couldn't risk this girl's life just because of the way my body was reacting to someone else.

It wasn't just my body, though.

My very being wanted her. I felt…forlorn at not being in her presence.

The time it took for me to war with myself internally was miniscule, hardly the time it took for a gust of wind to pick up a leaf, but Maggie sensed something all the same. Her thoughts raced through different positions, exotic ways to use her tongue, a plethora of things she could do to get me to participate more.

_He doesn't want me. What can I do to make him want me, want _this_?_

She tugged on my hair so she could claim my mouth, and then spoke against my lips. "I've never felt this way. I never believed in mates until now…God_, Edward_, tell me what you want…tell me how to please you…"

_Edward! Edward, please, you must._

The tenor of fear that laced Alice's echoing voice inside my head pushed me into action. If for no other reason, I had to do this, to convince Maggie I was with her, too.

My breaths were heavy. Her scent surrounded me; if I were human, I was sure it would suffocate me. "I want…I need…"

Running my lips down her neck, I tried to give in to her. It would be so simple to glide my fingertips across her smooth skin, unbutton the clasp on her shorts and slip my hand inside. She was ready, so, so ready, and she kept saying that she wanted me.

It almost hurt to push aside images of the beautiful girl from Alice's vision, to not think of the way the light from the lanterns strung across the beach reflected in her mischievous eyes, but I had to.

"Tell me," she murmured again, as she leaned her head back and moaned. "Oh…I want you so much. Tell me that you want me, too, Edward." _ Prove it._

Her breaths came out in panting bursts as I dropped my hand to skim across the skin of her back. It wasn't the skin I wanted to touch and taste and memorize, but maybe there would be an opportunity to...later.

I certainly hoped there would be. Right now, it was among one of the only things keeping me going.

I leaned and bit down on her ear lobe, whispering in her ear. "I want you, too."

Like the flip I had tried to switch earlier, Maggie's actions slammed to a standstill. Anger pulsated in her every thought, and I listened, stunned, as she began a mental chant of _lies, lies, lies, wrong, no, untruth. _

It was one of the oddest, surest thoughts I'd ever heard. Her eyes snapped open, stance rigid as she pushed me back, forcing me against the wall. The stone cracked beneath me, giving way and falling at my feet.

Like being doused with a bucket of ice water, her flame sizzled as her thoughts became steaming embers of a red, jumbled haze. They flashed too fast for me to catch a common thread, flashing for a split-second and then there was nothing there—just white, calm space.

"What did you say?"

Confused at the swift turn of events, I straightened and looked at her. "Excuse me?"

"It's not a hard question, Edward." I didn't like the way my name rolled off her tongue, so crisp and scornful. "I asked you, quite simply, what it was you just said to me."

"That I…I want—I want you, too?"

"Lies," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Beneath the anger, there was confusion for her, too, and, more than that, hurt.

I felt like a cad.

"What? Maggie, I—"

"You're lying. And we're going to get to the bottom of this right now." _What is happening to me? Maybe I was wrong about _him_, too._

"What do you mean, I'm lying? And how do you propose we 'get to the bottom' of it?" Desperate to understand, I grabbed for her hand, but she pulled it away and crossed her arms over her chest in a very real human gesture of annoyance. Her thoughts weren't making any sense. Who was the "him" she was thinking about?

Whatever was going on, I had to know.

"You know you're lying just as well as I do. You…_want_ someone _else_! You…how _could_ you?" She clutched her hand over her chest and crumpled back against the wall for a moment. Then she stood straight up, a fiery expression on her face as she looked at me. "We're going to Aro."

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><p><strong>I wrote a oneshot that's a combination for Fandom for Sexual Assault Awareness and for my BFF Twisherry, who bought me in FGB-. It's so fluffy and sappy, you'll get a sweet-tooth-I promise. Even if that's not your thing, I hope you'll support this worthy cause. Donations are being accepted until June 29. More info here: fandom4saa (dot) wordpress (dot) com<strong>


	9. 9 I Can't Explain

**AN: Sorry for the epic update fail. Maybe we'll be back on track now. Someone asked me how many chapters I have planned, and right now, it's looking like 16 or 17. That might change a little bit—but I think it's safe to say that we're halfway there. **

**There aren't enough kisses for nicnicd. She's the bomb.**

**Disclaimer: you know.**

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><p><strong>il Sensale — Chapter 9: I Can't Explain<strong>

"We're going to Aro."

This could not be good. The determined expression on Maggie's face as she grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the door left me stunned to the point of immobility for a moment—there was no way we could go to Aro with what she was thinking: her thoughts were singularly focused on getting to the bottom of this fiasco. She wasn't just thinking about me and our _mis_match—she was thinking about the entire Challenge. Her mind was set on a continuous loop of Aro's speeches and promises and my half-hearted attempts at telling her that I wanted her. Somehow, she knew it was all lies.

_Liars—the whole lot of them. _

Her thoughts gave me pause. I didn't know how she knew these things to be truth, but I wanted to. Those strange red and white threads twisted her thoughts still, oddly fascinating and something I'd never witnessed before.

When she realized that I wasn't budging, she turned to me and pushed me against the wall, baring her teeth and pressing her fingertip to my chest. "You're gonna tell me what the hell is going on _right now_."

Her face crumpled as she looked at me. Her emotions wavered between hurt and a lingering desire, each thought warring with each other as she tried to convince herself that she hated me. Still, though, she wanted me, longed for the promise of a mate—something she desperately wanted.

Unsure of what to say to this without giving myself and my talent, the very reason I was here, away, I said nothing.

"You owe me that much," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Nodding at her, I pressed my finger to my lips, not daring to even whisper within the walls of the castle. Raising my eyebrow, I grabbed her hips and pulled her close to me. I'd put on a show until we were away from here and could talk.

I leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Not in here, _please_. I'll tell you everything, but play along until we figure this out." Growling, playing my part, I said "Darling, I can't take you in here, like this—we have to be alone. Let's go."

She looked at me incredulously for a moment, deciding whether or not to trust me or just turn me in. Finally she acquiesced and followed me outside. Once we reached the doors of the castle, we ran as fast as we could toward the northeastern corner of the island. It was pretty much as far as we could get from the others. The wind felt good against my skin, and I pushed my legs harder, faster, to feel more. There was a lingering scent of human blood in the air, and I hesitated. The stress of the night left me feeling discombobulated, anxious, and my thirst was once again ravenous. Maggie, seemingly sensing my indecision, squeezed my hand and urged me forward.

Once we reached the shore, I noticed a small island about two miles away. I stood stock still as Maggie stripped out of her clothes, revealing a tiny red bikini. She wasn't my mate, but I could appreciate her figure—long, lean muscles sculpted beneath alabaster skin.

She rolled her eyes at me as she ran out into the surf and dove beneath the surface.

I followed her lead, stripping down to the boxers underneath my clothes, and wading into the water. Within seconds, we reached the island, which honestly was smaller than Carlisle's yard in Washington. As if it comforted her to do so, Maggie grabbed my hand again and together we walked through the foliage to the center of the island.

"I saw you at the Opening Ceremony," she said. "You were standing next to a girl, and I _noticed _you." She looked up at me, her eyes pleading. Thoughts of us smiling and laughing, kissing, and even more—she wanted me since she saw me, even before we became "mates".

"She's my sister," I offered, trying to ignore the uncomfortable notions swirling through her brain.

She smiled a little. "I know. I heard her call you 'brother' later. I knew we'd be connected somehow when I realized how _relieved _knowing you weren't with her made me feel. I don't know what's going on, Edward, but I do know that we're both going to have to trust each other—and that's hard to do, especially when I know you're lying to me."

And I wanted to trust her, I truly did. Somehow she knew the Challenge wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and that could be a help to me. But first I would have to know her intentions...and I would have to gain _her _trust.

There was something sad about Maggie, something sweet and honest that didn't fit with the other vampires gathered on the island. I hated that I'd hurt her feelings so much, a fact that was very obvious. That she had consented to listen to me first before deciding on turning me in was something I hoped to make up to her. Something I could begin doing now...

"I'm not—" I started.

She held up her hand, silencing me. "Just wait. Don't lie to me anymore." She cleared her throat and held my hand tighter. "I'm going to go first. This isn't one sided—I'm going to tell you everything I know—_trust you_ with information that no one else has. And then you will explain your side to me. Whether you like it or not, we're together, and we both have so much to lose if we go against the rules."

"I don't care about the rules."

"I know." She laughed. "But I think your sister, and my family as well, will care if we're being killed for our dissent."

Guilt flooded me. I'd almost forgotten about the entire reason I was here: to protect my sister.

"I don't know how much you're aware of, but most of the vampires here have a talent. None of my coven does, though—at least not as far as anyone knows about."

"What?" I began, but Maggie cut me off.

"Liam wanted to join, and of course Siobhan wouldn't be without him. He's convinced that the Romanians are set out to harm us—regardless of how many times that I've told them that isn't true."

"You know Romanians?"

She nodded. "Before I found Siobhan and Liam, I spent time near the border. There are parts that are violent, but most of the areas are peaceful. There was a Romanian named Lucia that I was close to—before the Cause forced us to separate ways."

Her thoughts went to a boy with dark hair and eyes, looking at her intently and pleading with her not to leave him. She shook her head, and then continued. "Anyway, both Siobhan and I possess a talent, though she would not agree that she does. She can affect the outcome of any event—simply by wishing it so. And I—" she stuttered. "I can tell when someone is telling the truth." She looked up at me, the determined expression from back at the castle returning. "Or when they're lying to my face."

"Maggie, I…"

Again, she held up her hand. "You're lying to me about wanting me, but what I don't understand is _why_. Why do I feel this way? Why do _I_ feel like I can't _breathe_ because your arms aren't wrapped around me—yet you feel _nothing_?"

"That's not true," I croaked out. "I don't feel nothing—I mean, you're _beautiful._ It's just that…"

"You want someone else. I didn't know it until you said you wanted me, but I know it as sure as I'm sitting here with you."

We were silent for several minutes, listening for anyone that could possibly be approaching. "I knew about the talents. I didn't know about yours, or Siobhan's, but everyone else's—I know pretty much everything about everyone." Almost. I didn't think it was the right time to bring up _Bella_, or the male who had washed up with her.

Maggie eyed me skeptically._ He's not lying... But that can't be true. Pompous, arrogant, male!_

"You're right—I am arrogant, and I'm not lying."

She gasped. "How did you know that?"

Deciding to be honest with her, I said, "I can read thoughts. I can read your mind."

She quickly felt embarrassed, then starting thinking about all of the illicit encounters we'd had in her earlier fantasies.

Grimacing a bit, I muttered, "Yeah, I can see all of that, too."

She groaned. "Get out of my head!"

"I can't. My power doesn't work the same way that Aro's does. I can only detect what you are thinking _right now_—not every thought you've ever had. I don't need to touch you for it work, either. So if you want me out, stop thinking about that."

She didn't. _I _wish_ you'd touch me._

"Maggie, _focus_. We need to figure a way out of this. I can understand why Aro wasn't informed of Siobhan's talent, but why not yours?"

"I don't know. I don't know why I didn't tell. It just seemed like the right thing to do, at the time. The only people who know are Siobhan and Liam. It's like insurance, I suppose."

"Insurance?"

"Just in case. I don't know, Edward!" She stood up, frustrated and panicked as she paced around in a circle. Her thoughts flashed to Aro at the opening ceremony.

"You knew he was lying then." I didn't wait for her to agree before continuing—I'd already heard it in her thoughts. "How about when he matched everyone? His thoughts were as concealed as he could manage—he's well aware of my talent."

"I knew he was lying about something, but I wasn't sure what. Searching for the matches, I guess." She shrugged. "I was listening to everything, but I was mostly waiting to get to you."

"I don't understand."

"I don't either. But I felt drawn to you almost immediately."

"I'm sorry," I whispered. Only a fool would turn down the girl in front of me.

"Don't." She looked away. "It is what it is. I won't guilt you into something you obviously don't want, so let's just stop talking about...that. We need to figure out how to fix this. The first part of the Challenge is to give yourself to your mate. We haven't even started, and we're already at risk to be killed, so we have to figure out a way around that." She smiled, a sad expression crossing her face. "I'd almost prefer death to this—inescapable _longing_."

"I'm sorry," I said again. Damn. I was pretty sure I had never apologized so much in my entire life. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, I grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit beside me. "Okay, let's think about what we know. You're right. It's important for us to trust each other, and I know I'll need to work on that, but for now, let's try." I looked at her, pleadingly.

She nodded once.

"When we're alone, don't say anything important out loud. We can't be sure of who might be listening to us at any given time." We both glanced around before I continued, letting our enhanced senses range out as far as possible. "When we're not alone, it's imperative that you remember that no one else knows my gift. So, you'll have to talk out loud then, even though you know that I can always read your mind and know what you're really thinking. This is actually pretty fucking invaluable," I said, thinking about what our gifts combined would mean for a moment. "You'll know if they're lying…"

"…and you'll be able to tell without giving it away. Brilliant." She beamed before her face fell. "That still doesn't explain what we're going to do to get out of this mess."

"I know. I haven't told you everything yet. I have a plan. And it's 'brilliant', too."

She sat and listened to me as I explained about my arrangement to get Alice out when the war was done.

"And you think Aro will let me go, too?"

Smiling, I nodded. "Yeah. He'll have to. You're 'my mate,' after all. He can't expect you to stay if I'm leaving."

She looked sad. "No, Edward. He'll expect you to stay because I can't leave. What about your sister? You think she'll go along with this?"

"I can only hope so."

"For such a 'brilliant' plan, you sure didn't think this through. What about your sister's mate? Demetri isn't going anywhere."

_Shit._ "I don't know, yet. I have to believe in something, and right now, it's that all of this is going to work out."

After that we sat for hours, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I was concentrating so hard on figuring out what we would do that I barely paid attention to what Maggie was working out.

Finally, she broke the silence. "There has to be more to this than we realize. Maybe we'll find out more during the match tomorrow." She paused, and lightly ran her fingertips over my brows, nose, and along my lips. She smiled a sad little smile at that, exuding a longing so sincere that I felt twice as bad as before for having to say no to her.

Still, there was Bella, and I knew she was the girl that should be my mate. That feeling alone let me know that Aro had somehow messed up everything on purpose. I just didn't understand what his end game was, truly. _What does he want more than winning his precious war?_

_Alice. Alice. Alice. Alice._ Maggie was practically screaming her name at me.

"What about Alice?"

"She's your sister?"

"Yeah. I mean, she's as close to a sister as I could ever have." I bumped my shoulder against hers. "We found each other when we were both newborns. She doesn't even remember being human, and I just barely do."

I thought then about finding my sister as I did: this wild little thing with no knowledge of her past and only a vague idea of what her future held. She knew what she was, somehow, knew how to hunt and hide because she'd had visions of these things as the instinct to feed grew more powerful. She'd seen herself meeting me, and knew which park to wait for me in. I clearly remembered her sitting there on that bench, casual as could be, a giant grin on her face when I caught the scent of another of my kind and came to investigate.

_...You don't know me yet, but you're going to be my companion, so don't attack me. You'll just feel bad about that later..._

"You love her."

I caught a glimpse of the soft smile on my face through Maggie's eyes, and I shrugged. "Of course. We've been through a lot together. It must be that way with your coven."

She nodded. "Aye. At least about Siobhan. She's like a mother to me, so fiercely protective and a bit overbearing at times. You said no one else knew your gift, but she...Alice, must," Maggie insisted.

"You're right. She does. There are actually a few others. I'm not sure if you saw him, but Emmett knows. As do Carlisle and Esme, but none of them would ever tell. Neither would Aro or any of his cronies. I'm his _secret _weapon."

Just then we heard the snapping of a stick, causing both of us to jump up. I cursed myself for not paying better attention, so wrapped up in memories as I was. Shocking myself, I crouched protectively in front of Maggie as the tall vampire who had accompanied Bella appeared in front of us. His thoughts were laid-back and sated. He'd just fed, apparently on those humans we left behind on our trek to the small island.

"Your secret's safe with me," he said, holding up his hands. I don't know what it was about him, but his pure thoughts and the innocent way he looked at me let me know that I could trust him. It might have had something to do with the fact that I knew he was at the very least Bella's travelling companion. She probably would be upset if I killed her friend for imposing on my conversation with Maggie.

Maggie wrapped her hand around my bicep and pulled, attempting to coax me into sitting down next to her once more. _Let's just listen to what he has to say, Edward. He has to have a reason for being here._ "Come on," she whispered to me before reaching around me and extending her hand to him. "I'm Maggie. And this is Edward. We don't know how much you just heard…"

He took her hand in his and shook it. _Nothing. Just something about a secret. You'd think they didn't know there ain't no such thing as secrets around here—not with Aro running the show. "_Not much, ma'am," he said.

I shook his outstretched hand before sitting down close to Maggie.

He introduced himself as Jasper and told us about his last minute choice to join up with the Cause. From his descriptions about his time before he came to the island, he was a rebel, pure and simple. Both he and Bella were simply looking for a fight to join in.

I was immediately relieved when he explained his relationship to Bella. They were close, just like Alice and I were—intensely protective of one another. He didn't seem too fond of Alec from the brief interaction he had with him before whisking Bella away. I didn't allow myself to think about anything else regarding them—if I had, I wouldn't have been able to sit there calmly. I would have sought them out and torn Alec apart.

Somehow, I didn't think that would fit into my plan to get us all out safely.

Just when I was going to inquire whether he or Bella had a special talent, I heard Carlisle calling for me.

He appeared moments later, dripping wet and a little too panicked for my liking. "Oh, Edward, I've been looking for you. I've just come from a meeting with Aro, and he asked me to let you know that he requests your presence as soon as you are able to break yourself away from your new mate," he said. _What the hell are you doing out here? Aro is agitated, and that's not a good thing. _

I gave an almost imperceptive nod, indicating that I 'heard' him and I'd talk to him later. "Carlisle, meet Maggie," I said, "and Jasper."

"Ah Jasper! I've heard quite a bit about you this evening." _We have a lot to talk about, son, and I don't know how we'll do it. They're listening—everywhere. _He smiled at Jasper. "I look forward to getting to know you better." _He can affect moods. Aro's planning to use him as a weapon._

Staggering back for a moment, I realized that this was bigger than I had first imagined. I had no idea how we were going to get out of it, but I knew I wasn't going to be ruled by the Volturi for the rest of my existence.

Even if it meant killing Aro.


End file.
